n. 25B6; verb
he stabbed him in the stomach : KNIFE, run through, skewer, spear, bayonet, gore, spike, stick, impale, transfix, pierce, prick, puncture; poetic/literary transpierce.
she stabbed at the earth with a fork : LUNGE, thrust, jab, poke, prod, dig.
25B6; noun
a stab in the leg : KNIFE WOUND, puncture, incision, prick, cut, perforation.
they made stabs into the air : LUNGE, thrust, jab, poke, prod, dig, punch.
a stab of pain : TWINGE, pang, throb, spasm, cramp, dart, blaze, prick, flash, thrill.
(informal) he had a stab at writing : ATTEMPT, try, effort, endeavour; guess; informal go, shot, crack, bash, whack; formal essay.
25A0; stab someone in the back BETRAY, be disloyal to, be unfaithful to, desert, break one's promise to, double-cross, break faith with, sell out, play false, inform on/against; informal tell on, sell down the river, squeal on, stitch up, peach on, do the dirty on; Brit. informal grass on, shop; N. Amer. informal rat out, finger, drop a/the dime on; Austral. informal pimp on, pool, put someone's pot on.