ALL meanings of jack-knife
jack-knife
J j - noun plural jack-knife a large pocketknife. 1
- noun plural jack-knife Fancy Diving. a dive in which the diver bends in midair to touch the toes, keeping the legs straight, and then straightens out. 1
- verb without object jack-knife to bend or double over like a jackknife: The prizefighter jackknifed and fell when he was hit in the stomach. 1
- verb without object jack-knife (of a trailer truck) to have the cab and trailer swivel at the linkage until they form a V shape, as the result of an abrupt stop or accident. 1
- verb without object jack-knife (in diving) to perform a jackknife. 1
- verb without object jack-knife to move rapidly at an abrupt angle. 1
- verb with object jack-knife to cause to jackknife: The blow jackknifed the prizefighter. 1
- verb with object jack-knife to cut with a jackknife. 1
- adjective jack-knife resembling a jackknife, as in its shape, function, or manner of opening and folding. 1
- verb jack-knife If a truck that is in two parts jack-knifes, the back part swings around at a sharp angle to the front part in an uncontrolled way as the truck is moving. 0
- noun jack-knife A compact folding knife. 0
- noun jack-knife The front-dive pike, in which the body folds and unfolds. 0
- noun jack-knife (Colloquial) A semi-trailer truck accident in which the vehicle mimics the closing of a jack-knife. 0
- noun jack-knife (statistics) Alternative spelling of jackknife. 0
- verb jack-knife To fold in the middle, as a jackknife does. 0
- verb jack-knife (Colloquial) To cause a semi-trailer truck to fold like a jackknife in a traffic accident. 0