I. ˈjak noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English jacke, from Jacke, nickname for Johan (John)
1.
a.
(1) capitalized , obsolete : a man of the common people ; also : an impertinent or rude fellow
familiar both with peers and Jacks — British Magazine
(2) sometimes capitalized : a human being : man — used as an intensive in such phrases as every man jack
virtually every man jack — Time
or every jack one
dead, dead every jack one of them — W.S.Maugham
(3) capitalized , slang : pal , buddy , guy — usually used in address
what they get you for, Jack — Thurston Scott
I love it all, Jack — Chandler Brossard
b.
(1) often capitalized : sailor — called also jack-tar
(2) sometimes capitalized : laborer , servant , attendant
(3) : lumberjack
(4) Australia : policeman
c.
(1) : a playing card carrying the figure of a servant or soldier and ranking usually below the queen — called also knave
(2)
[by shortening]
: jackpot 1a(4)
(3) : a player's bet in a lottery that he can name all five numbers that will be drawn
2.
a. : a figure usually of a man that strikes the time on a bell especially in a turret clock
b.
(1) : any of various portable hand-operated machines for lifting heavy weights or otherwise exerting great force by utilizing the principle of the lever, screw, toggle joint, or hydraulic press
(2) : a clamp commonly of the screw type for holding work firmly in a desired position (as in a machine)
(3) : a usually triangular wooden brace fastened to the floor by means of a foot iron and a stage screw and hinged to the back of a wall or other scenic unit in a stage set in order to prop it up from behind
c. : a contrivance for turning a spit
d. : an intermediate upright piece of wood at the inner end of each key in any of several keyboard instruments (as a harpsichord or piano) communicating its action to the string by means of a quill, a metal tangent, or a hammer
e.
(1) : a small white target ball at which bowls are rolled in lawn bowling
(2)
[probably short for jackstone ]
: a small round stone : pebble ; especially : one used in the game of jacks
(3) : a small six-pointed usually metal object used in the game of jacks
(4) jacks plural but singular in construction : a game played with a set of small objects (as stones, bones, or metal pieces, and often a ball) in which the players toss, catch, and move these objects in a variety of figures requiring coordination of hand and eye
(5)
[by shortening]
: jackknife 2
f. : a bat to close a masonry course
g.
(1) dialect England : one fourth of a pint ; also : half-pint
(2)
[by shortening]
: applejack
a side of beef and a gallon of jack to wash it down — G.A.Chamberlain
also : brandy
the stuff tasted like raisin jack — Gore Vidal
an extra supply of prune jack — American Guide Series: Pennsylvania
h.
(1) : a lever for depressing the sinkers which push the loops down on the needles in a knitting machine
(2) : a lever that raises a harness especially on dobby looms
(3) : creel 3
(4) : a machine like a fly frame to handle fine cotton roving
i. : a small flag showing nationality flown by a ship usually on a jack staff at the bowsprit cap or at the bow but elsewhere in making certain signals
j.
(1) : a bar of iron athwartships at a topgallant masthead to support a royal mast and spread the royal shrouds
(2) : lazy jack 2
k. : a pan or frame for the fuel of a torch used in hunting or fishing at night ; also : the torch itself : jacklight
l.
(1) : a receptacle with one or more connections to electric circuits arranged for convenient plugging in of connections to other circuits
(2) : a female metallic terminal or junction piece by means of which instruments may be quickly inserted in a line or telephone circuits quickly joined at the central office or exchange
m. : sphalerite
n. slang : money
hadn't that much jack — Nevil Shute
3. : something smaller than the usual or typical of its kind — used in combination
jack rafter
jack shaft
4.
a. : any of several fishes: as
(1) : pike , pickerel ; especially : a young or small pike
(2) : walleyed pike
(3) : a fish of the family Carangidae ; especially : a crevalle ( Caranx hippos )
(4) : a young male fish
a jack salmon
b. : the male of various animals especially of the domestic ass or donkey
c. : any of several birds: as
(1)
[by shortening]
: jackdaw
(2)
[by shortening]
: jacksnipe
d. : bone spavin
e.
[by shortening]
: jackrabbit
Synonyms: see flag
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
intransitive verb
1. : to hunt or fish at night with a jacklight ; specifically : to hunt game especially deer illegally at night by shining a spotlight that dazzles and holds immobile
2. slang chiefly Britain : to give up suddenly or readily — used with up
transitive verb
1. : to hunt or fish at night with a jacklight : kill with the aid of a jacklight
a buck that had been jacked on his own land — New York Herald Tribune
2.
a. : to move or lift by or as if by means of a jack — usually used with up
jack up an automobile
jacked up my shorts — Harold Robbins
b. : raise , increase
decided to jack their fees — Wall Street Journal
— usually used with up
stepped in to jack up … the prices he got — F.L.Allen
c. : to raise the level or quality of : bolster — usually used with up
jacking up discipline — R.M.Neal
has ideas about jacking up audiences — New Yorker
this whole business of jacking up the soul — P.G.Wodehouse
d. : to take to task : call to account : reprimand or scold sharply — used with up
jacked up two or three men of the company — R.P.Reeder
3. : to pass (boards) up to a piler on top of a lumber pile
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English jakke, from Middle French jaque, jaques — more at jacket
1. : a coarse cheap body garment worn for defense during the medieval period ; especially : one made of leather and sometimes lined with metal
2. : a vessel for holding liquor made originally of waxed leather and coated on the outside with tar or pitch : jug , tankard
IV.
variant of jackfruit
V.
variant of jack cheese