jack (1) — ONAD

jack1 /jak, dʒæk

▸ noun

1 a device for lifting heavy objects, especially one for raising the axle of a motor vehicle off the ground so that a wheel can be changed or the underside inspected.

2 a playing card bearing a representation of a soldier, page, or knave, normally ranking next below a queen.

3 a socket with two or more pairs of terminals designed to receive a jack plug.

4 in lawn bowling, the small ball at which the players aim.

5 (jacks) a game played by tossing and catching small round pebbles or star-shaped pieces of metal or plastic.

▪ (also jackstone) a small round pebble or star-shaped piece of metal used in the game of jacks.

▪ informal, mainly US (Jack) used as a form of address to a man whose name is not known.

▪ North American informal a lumberjack.

▪ archaic a steeplejack.

▪ the figure of a man striking the bell on a clock.

7 a small version of a national flag flown at the bow of a vessel in harbor to indicate its nationality.

8 North American informal, dated money.

9 a device for turning a spit.

10 a part of the mechanism in a spinet or harpsichord that connects a key to its corresponding string and causes the string to be plucked when the key is pressed down.

11 a marine fish that is typically laterally compressed with a row of large spiky scales along each side. Jacks are important in many places as food or game fish. Also called pompano, scad.

Family Carangidae (the jack family): many genera and numerous species. The jack family also includes the horse mackerel, pilotfish, kingfishes, and trevallies.

12 the male of some animals, especially a merlin or an ass.

13 used in names of animals that are smaller than similar kinds, e.g., jacksnipe.

14 US informal short for jack shit.

15 short for jackrabbit.

– PHRASES
before one can say Jack Robinson informal
very quickly or suddenly.every man jack informal
each and every person (used for emphasis):

they're spies, every man jack of them.

jack of all trades
a person who can do many different types of work.jack of all trades and master of none
a person who can do many different types of work but who is not necessarily very competent at any of them.

– PHRASAL VERBS
jack around (jack someone around, jack around someone) North American informal
cause someone inconvenience or problems, especially by acting unfairly or indecisively:

stop jacking me around and answer my questions.

jack in

1 (jack something in, jack in something) British informal
give up or stop doing something, especially a job:

he jacked in his office job.

2 (jack something in, jack in something) informal
connect up a computer or electronic device:

I jacked my laptop in and connected to the default IP.

jack into (jack into something or be jacked into something) informal
connect to or log in to a computer system:

now, everybody is jacked into the internet.

jack off vulgar slang
masturbate.jack up

1 (jack something up, jack up something)
raise something, especially a vehicle, with a jack:

jack the car up until the wheel can spin freely.

▪ informal
increase something by a considerable amount:

France jacked up its key bank interest rate.

2 informal
inject oneself with an illegal drug:

we stepped over people jacking up in the street outside.

3 Australian
give up or refuse to participate in something:

they'd just jack up and go on strike.

4 (jack something up, jack up something) New Zealand informal
arrange or organize something:

they did a national service in jacking this racing up.

– ORIGIN late Middle English : from Jack, pet form of the given name John. The term was used originally to denote an ordinary man (jack1 (SENSE 6)), also a youth (mid 16th century), hence the ‘knave’ in cards and ‘male animal’. The word also denoted various devices saving human labor, as though one had a helper (jack1 (SENSE 1, SENSE 3, SENSE 9, SENSE 10), and in compounds such as jackhammer and jackknife); the general sense ‘laborer’ arose in the early 18th century and survives in cheapjack, lumberjack, steeplejack, etc. Since the mid 16th century a notion of ‘smallness’ has arisen, hence jack1 (SENSE 4, SENSE 5, SENSE 7, SENSE 13).