JACKKNIFE


Meaning of JACKKNIFE in English

n.

Function: transitive verb

Date: 1806

1 : to cut with a jackknife

2 : to cause to double up like a jackknife

intransitive verb

1 : to double up like a jackknife < jackknifed into a seat beside me, folding up his six feet eight ― Lady Bird Johnson>

2 : to turn and form an angle of 90 degrees or less with each other ― used especially of a tractor-trailer combination

Merriam Webster Collegiate English Dictionary.      Merriam Webster - Энциклопедический словарь английского языка.