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Glite Dictionary
friendly jab

friendly jab

4.8
A light, playful poke to show friendship or affection
  • noun
  • Informal
translation icon : toquecito amistoso
  • During the game, she made a friendly jab about my team's score, and we both laughed.

Examples

  • His comment was meant as a friendly jab between old friends.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • I would probably take a friendly jab about her texting and people not getting her majesty's company or something like that.

    Blog text (22)

  • I gave my friend a friendly jab on the shoulder to show my affection.

  • He offered a friendly jab to lighten the mood after the tense meeting.

Synonyms

jab
vsfriendly jab
16 3.0

A quick sharp poke with a finger, hand, or object

is gentler and playful rather than sharp or forceful
boop
vsfriendly jab
  • Texting
5 8.3

A light playful touch on the nose or cheek to show affection

is a light playful poke used broadly for camaraderie not only face touches
to poke in the ribs
vsfriendly jab
  • Informal
1 6.0

Push someone's side with a finger to get their attention or make them laugh

is a light general touch not limited to side nudges
playful pinch
vsfriendly jab
  • Informal
3.1

A light squeeze on someone's skin to tease or show affection

is a poke or touch rather than a squeezing motion
fist jab
vsfriendly jab
  • Informal
4.0

A quick touch of two closed fists to greet or show support

is an affectionate poke rather than a formal knuckle touch

How Forceful

poke
4 2.5
friendly jab
  • Informal
4.8
nudge
23 3.5
tap
66 1.0

Surface Forms

friendly jab singular
friendly jabs plural

Morphology

friendly + jab

The meaning 'a light, playful poke' is directly and compositionally derived from 'friendly' (kind/playful) modifying 'jab' (a quick poke), so the overall sense is predictable from the constituents. This adjective+noun pattern is transparent and cross-linguistically familiar, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Friendly jab comes from the image of a short, light jab, a quick poke with a finger that friends use to tease or show care. That's why it now means 'a light, playful poke' or a kind joke, not something meant to hurt.