jack

[ jak ]

/ dʒæk /

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noun

any of various portable devices for raising or lifting heavy objects short heights, using various mechanical, pneumatic, or hydraulic methods.

Also called knave. Cards. a playing card bearing the picture of a soldier or servant.

Electricity. a connecting device in an electrical circuit designed for the insertion of a plug.

Jack, Informal. fellow; buddy; man (usually used in addressing a stranger): Hey, Jack, which way to Jersey?

Also called jackstone. Games.

one of a set of small metal objects having six prongs, used in the game of jacks.
one of any other set of objects, as pebbles, stones, etc., used in the game of jacks.
jacks, (used with a singular verb) a children's game in which small metal objects, stones, pebbles, or the like, are tossed, caught, and moved on the ground in a number of prescribed ways, usually while bouncing a rubber ball.

any of several carangid fishes, especially of the genus Caranx, as C. hippos(crevalle jack, or jack crevalle ), of the western Atlantic Ocean.

Slang. money: He won a lot of jack at the races.

Slang: Vulgar. jack shit.

Nautical.

a small flag flown at the jack staff of a ship, bearing a distinctive design usually symbolizing the nationality of the vessel.
Also called jack crosstree. either of a pair of crosstrees at the head of a topgallant mast, used to hold royal shrouds away from the mast.

Jack, a sailor.

a device for turning a spit.

a small wooden rod in the mechanism of a harpsichord, spinet, or virginal that rises when the key is depressed and causes the attached plectrum to strike the string.

Lawn Bowling. a small, usually white bowl or ball used as a mark for the bowlers to aim at.

Also called clock jack. Horology. a mechanical figure that strikes a clock bell.

a premigratory young male salmon.

Theater. brace jack.

Falconry. the male of a kestrel, hobby, or especially of a merlin.

verb (used with object)

to lift or move (something) with or as if with a jack (usually followed by up): to jack a car up to change a flat tire.

Informal. to increase, raise, or accelerate (prices, wages, speed, etc.) (usually followed by up).

Informal. to boost the morale of; encourage (usually followed by up).

Slang. to mess up, ruin, or injure (usually followed by up): The paint job was all jacked up.I jacked my shoulder when I fell.

to jacklight.

verb (used without object)

to jacklight.

adjective

Carpentry. having a height or length less than that of most of the others in a structure; cripple: jack rafter; jack truss.

Verb Phrases

jack off, Slang: Vulgar. to masturbate.

jack up, Slang. to give oneself an injection of a controlled substance: After 30 heroin-free days, he was let out for the afternoon and came straight to my door, begging to jack up.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Idioms about jack

every man jack, everyone without exception: They presented a formidable opposition, every man jack of them.

Origin of jack

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English jakke, Jakke used in addressing any male, especially a social inferior, variant of Jakken, variant of Jankin, equivalent to Jan “John” + -kin diminutive suffix; extended in sense to anything male, and as a designation for a variety of inanimate objects; see origin at John, -kin

Words nearby jack

jaçana, jacaranda, jacaré, Jacareí, jacinth, jack, jack-a-dandy, jackal, jackanapes, “Jack and Jill”, “Jack and the Beanstalk”

Other definitions for jack (2 of 5)

jack²

[ jak ]

/ dʒæk /

verb (used with object) Slang.

to steal: Some neighborhood kids jacked her car and took it for a joyride.Hackers jacked my email account in a phishing scam.

to rob: He got jacked on his way home from the club.

Origin of jack

First recorded in 1930–35; shortening of hijack

Other definitions for jack (3 of 5)

jack³

[ jak ]

/ dʒæk /

noun

jackfruit.

Origin of jack

First recorded in 1605–15; from Portuguese jaca, from Malayalam cakka

Other definitions for jack (4 of 5)

jack⁴

[ jak ]

/ dʒæk /

noun

a defensive coat, usually of leather, worn in medieval times by foot soldiers and others.

a container for liquor, originally of waxed leather coated with tar.

Origin of jack

⁴

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English jakke, from Middle French jaque(s), “short, plain upper garment,” probably after jacques “peasant” (see Jacquerie)

Other definitions for jack (5 of 5)

Jack

[ jak ]

/ dʒæk /

noun

a male given name, form of Jacob or John.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use jack in a sentence

Philip drove west to the shore of fingerlike Tomales Bay, where they lunched on abalone and a smorgasbord that included the local Jack cheese and even more Teleme.
To Find Hope in American Cooking, James Beard Looked to the West Coast|John Birdsall|October 2, 2020|Eater
To our Jack—I’m so sorry that the first few moments of your life were met with so many complications, that we couldn’t give you the home you needed to survive.
Chrissy Teigen and John Legend publicly grieve the death of baby Jack|Ellen McGirt|October 1, 2020|Fortune
The details were laid out in a congressional drug pricing investigation published Wednesday, which concluded that prices were jacked up to hit revenue goals for shareholders and thus score bonuses for Alles and others.
‘Mighty whiteboard of truth’: The weapon Rep. Katie Porter used to school a pharma exec — and plenty others|Teo Armus|October 1, 2020|Washington Post
Ken Look, club sports athletic trainer at Stanford University, doesn’t recommend jumping jacks for general fitness warmups until you’ve been exercising regularly for about two weeks.
There’s a better way to warm up than stretching|John Kennedy|September 30, 2020|Popular-Science

Meanwhile, Murray has jacked up 44 of these shots throughout the playoffs.
Jamal Murray Isn’t The New Steph Curry, But He Might Be Close|Michael Pina|September 22, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Starting in the 1970s, then MPAA president Jack Valenti began what was to become a decades-long fight against the quota system.
Propaganda, Protest, and Poisonous Vipers: The Cinema War in Korea|Rich Goldstein|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Heinold's First and Last Chance, Oakland (Jack London, Taft) You can thank Johnny Heinold for your favorite Jack London book.
The Bars That Made America Great|Nina Strochlic|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But not even the threat of death can suppress the urge to live vicariously through Jack Dawson and James Bond.
North Korea’s Secret Movie Bootleggers: How Western Films Make It Into the Hermit Kingdom|Lizzie Crocker|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As I size up the scene, Jack White now wears the crown … and he wears it well.
The Best Albums of 2014|Ted Gioia|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Nets guard Jarrett Jack claimed credit for the shirts LeBron James and several other players were seen in before the game.
‘I Can’t Breathe’ Makes It Onto the Court for Will and Kate to See|Jacob Siegel|December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Strathland would bundle me out in ten minutes if anything happened to Jack.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
She is immensely rich, one of the ablest political women in London, and Jack is desperately in love with her.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
How on earth can Jack find time to think about women with the immense amount of work he gets through?
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
No, Jack is not much to look at, except when he wakes up—I have seen him quite transfigured on the platform.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
Little Jack Charmington, her husband, had a snug four hundred a year of his own, which quite sufficed for his modest needs.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills

British Dictionary definitions for jack (1 of 4)

jack¹

/ (dʒæk) /

noun

a man or fellow

a sailor

the male of certain animals, esp of the ass or donkey

a mechanical or hydraulic device for exerting a large force, esp to raise a heavy weight such as a motor vehicle

any of several mechanical devices that replace manpower, such as a contrivance for rotating meat on a spit

one of four playing cards in a pack, one for each suit, bearing the picture of a young prince; knave

bowls a small usually white bowl at which the players aim with their own bowls

electrical engineering a female socket with two or more terminals designed to receive a male plug (jack plug) that either makes or breaks the circuit or circuits

a flag, esp a small flag flown at the bow of a ship indicating the ship's nationalityCompare Union Jack

nautical either of a pair of crosstrees at the head of a topgallant mast used as standoffs for the royal shrouds

a part of the action of a harpsichord, consisting of a fork-shaped device on the end of a pivoted lever on which a plectrum is mounted

any of various tropical and subtropical carangid fishes, esp those of the genus Caranx, such as C. hippos (crevalle jack)

Also called: jackstone one of the pieces used in the game of jacks

short for applejack, bootjack, jackass, jackfish, jack rabbit, lumberjack

US a slang word for money

every man jack everyone without exception

the jack Australian slang venereal disease

adjective

jack of Australian slang tired or fed up with (something)

verb (tr)

to lift or push (an object) with a jack

electrical engineering to connect (an electronic device) with another by means of a jack and a jack plug

Also: jacklight US and Canadian to hunt (fish or game) by seeking them out or dazzling them with a flashlight

Word Origin for jack

C16 jakke, variant of Jankin, diminutive of John

British Dictionary definitions for jack (2 of 4)

jack²

jak

/ (dʒæk) /

noun

short for jackfruit

Word Origin for jack

C17: from Portuguese jaca; see jackfruit

British Dictionary definitions for jack (3 of 4)

jack³

/ (dʒæk) /

noun

a short sleeveless coat of armour of the Middle Ages, consisting usually of a canvas base with metal plates

archaic a drinking vessel, often of leather

Word Origin for jack

C14: from Old French jaque, of uncertain origin

British Dictionary definitions for jack (4 of 4)

Jack

/ (dʒæk) /

noun

I'm all right, Jack British informal

a remark indicating smug and complacent selfishness
(as modifier)an ``I'm all right, Jack'' attitude

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with jack

jack

In addition to the idioms beginning with jack

jack off
jack up

also see:

before you can say Jack Robinson

jack

Idioms about jack

Origin of jack

Words nearby jack

Other definitions for jack (2 of 5)

Origin of jack

Other definitions for jack (3 of 5)

Origin of jack

Other definitions for jack (4 of 5)

Origin of jack

Other definitions for jack (5 of 5)

Words related to jack

How to use jack in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for jack (1 of 4)

Word Origin for jack

British Dictionary definitions for jack (2 of 4)

jak

Word Origin for jack

British Dictionary definitions for jack (3 of 4)

Word Origin for jack

British Dictionary definitions for jack (4 of 4)

Other Idioms and Phrases with jack