jack-knife
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jack-knife
noun jack-knives · jackknife
- A compact folding knife. He kept a jack-knife in his pocket for various tasks.
- The front-dive pike, in which the body folds and unfolds. It took me hundreds of dives to master even the simple jackknife.
- An abdominal exercise where knees and torso are raised from a lying position.
- A semi-trailer truck accident in which the vehicle mimics the closing of a jack-knife. I have seen several jack-knives along that dangerous stretch of road.
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A game of skill played with a pocket knife in which participants try to throw or flip the knife to stick upright in the ground at specified points or areas.
Over at the stable, the men joke and drink whiskey, talk crops and play jack-knife […]
Similar: mumblety peg
- Alternative spelling of jackknife
verb jack-knifes · jack-knifing · jack-knifed · jackknife
- To fold in the middle, as a jackknife does. The cat jackknifed in the air and landed gracefully on its feet.
- To cause a semi-trailer truck to fold like a jackknife in a traffic accident. Before I knew what was happening, I'd jack-knifed the truck.
Translations
Every language
noun compact folding knife
| Español | navaja |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Klappmesser, Taschenmesser |
| Ελληνικά | σουγιάς sougiás |
| Русский | складно́й нож skladnój nož |
noun abdominal excercise
| Deutsch | Klappmesser |
|---|
Talk about this word "jack-knife." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/jack-knife. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. jack-knife. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/jack-knife "jack-knife." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/jack-knife.
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@misc{jack_knife_2026,
title = {jack-knife},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/jack-knife},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
