I. jar 1 /dʒɑː $ dʒɑːr/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: Old Provençal ; Origin: jarra , from Arabic jarrah 'pot for carrying water' ]
1 . a glass container with a wide top and a lid, used for storing food such as ↑ jam or ↑ honey , or the amount it contains:
a jam jar
half a jar of peanut butter
2 . a container made of clay, stone etc, used especially in the past for keeping food or drink in
3 . British English informal a glass of beer:
We’d had a few jars down the pub.
II. jar 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle jarred , present participle jarring )
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Origin: Probably from the sound ]
1 . [intransitive and transitive] to make someone feel annoyed or shocked:
His enthusiasm jarred.
His words jarred Harriet.
jar on
The screaming was starting to jar on my nerves.
2 . [intransitive and transitive] to shake or hit something in a way that damages it or makes it loose:
Alice landed badly, jarring her ankle.
3 . [intransitive] to be different in style or appearance from something else and therefore look strange SYN clash
jar with
There was a modern lamp that jarred with the rest of the room.
—jarring adjective