Poke vs. Stab — What's the Difference?

Jab or prod (someone or something) with one's finger or a sharp object

To pierce or wound with or as if with a pointed weapon.

Thrust (something, such as one's head) in a particular direction

To plunge (a pointed weapon or instrument) into something.

An act of poking someone or something

To make a thrusting or poking motion at or into

A look or search around a place

To thrust with or as if with a pointed weapon

Power or acceleration in a car

To inflict a wound with or as if with a pointed weapon.

A woman's bonnet with a projecting brim or front, popular especially in the early 19th century.

A thrust with a pointed weapon or instrument.

A bag or small sack

A wound inflicted with or as if with a pointed weapon.

Another term for pokeweed

A sudden piercing pain.

A North American plant of the lily family with a poisonous black rhizome and tall sprays of yellow-green flowers.

An attempt; a try

A Hawaiian dish of marinated raw fish or seafood, often served over rice

An act of stabbing or thrusting with an object.

To push or jab at, as with a finger or an arm; prod.

A wound made by stabbing.

To make (a hole or pathway, for example) by or as if by prodding, elbowing, or jabbing

Pain inflicted on a person's feelings.

To push; thrust

(informal) An attempt.

To stir (a fire) by prodding the wood or coal with a poker or stick.

Criticism.

(Slang) To strike; punch.

(music) A single staccato chord that adds dramatic impact to a composition.

To make thrusts or jabs, as with a stick or poker.

A bacterial culture made by inoculating a solid medium, such as gelatin, with the puncture of a needle or wire.

To pry or meddle; intrude

The horizontal or vertical stabilizer of an aircraft.

To search or look curiously in a desultory manner

(industrial relations) establishment

To proceed in a slow or lazy manner; putter

(transitive) To pierce or to wound (somebody) with a (usually pointed) tool or weapon, especially a knife or dagger.

To thrust forward; appear

(transitive) To thrust in a stabbing motion.

A push, thrust, or jab.

(intransitive) To recklessly hit with the tip of a (usually pointed) object, such as a weapon or finger (often used with at).

(Slang) A punch or blow with the fist

(intransitive) To cause a sharp, painful sensation (often used with at).

One who moves slowly or aimlessly; a dawdler.

To injure secretly or by malicious falsehood or slander.

A projecting brim at the front of a bonnet.

(transitive) To roughen a brick wall with a pick so as to hold plaster.

A large bonnet having a projecting brim.

(transitive) To pierce folded sheets, near their back edges, for the passage of thread or wire.

A sack; a bag.

To pierce with a pointed weapon; to wound or kill by the thrust of a pointed instrument; as, to stab a man with a dagger; also, to thrust; as, to stab a dagger into a person.

Pokeweed.

Fig.: To injure secretly or by malicious falsehood or slander; as, to stab a person's reputation.

A Hawaiian salad or appetizer traditionally consisting of cubed raw fish, often yellowfin tuna, that is marinated in soy sauce and sesame oil, and mixed with diced onions, sesame seeds, and ginger.

To give a wound with a pointed weapon; to pierce; to thrust with a pointed weapon.

To prod or jab with an object such as a finger or a stick.

To wound or pain, as if with a pointed weapon.

To stir up a fire to remove ash or promote burning.

The thrust of a pointed weapon.

(figuratively) To rummage; to feel or grope around.

A wound with a sharp-pointed weapon; as, to fall by the stab of an assassin.

To modify the value stored in (a memory address).

Fig.: An injury inflicted covertly or suddenly; as, a stab given to character.

(transitive) To put a poke device to prevent leaping or breaking fences on (an animal).

A sudden sharp feeling;

(transitive) To thrust at with the horns; to gore.

A thrusting blow with a knife or other sharp pointed instrument;

To notify (another user) of activity on social media or an instant messenger.

Informal words for any attempt or effort;

(transitive) To thrust (something) in a particular direction such as the tongue.

Use a knife on;

To penetrate in sexual intercourse.

Stab or pierce;

A prod, jab, or thrust.

Poke or thrust abruptly;

A lazy person; a dawdler.

A stupid or uninteresting person.

An old, worn-out horse.

(US) A device to prevent an animal from leaping or breaking through fences, consisting of a yoke with a pole inserted, pointed forward.

The storage of a value in a memory address, typically to modify the behaviour of a program or to cheat at a video game.

A notification sent to get another user's attention on social media or an instant messenger.

A poke bonnet.

A hit, especially an extra base hit.

A sack or bag.

A long, wide sleeve.

An ice cream cone.

(dialectal) Pokeweed.

(Hawaii) Slices or cubes of raw fish or other raw seafood, mixed with sesame oil, seaweed, sea salt, herbs, spices, or other flavorful ingredients.

A large North American herb of the genus Phytolacca (Phytolacca decandra), bearing dark purple juicy berries; - called also garget, pigeon berry, pocan, and pokeweed. The root and berries have emetic and purgative properties, and are used in medicine. The young shoots are sometimes eaten as a substitute for asparagus, and the berries are said to be used in Europe to color wine.

A bag; a sack; a pocket.

A long, wide sleeve; - called also poke sleeve.

The act of poking; a thrust; a jog; as, a poke in the ribs.

A lazy person; a dawdler; also, a stupid or uninteresting person.

A contrivance to prevent an animal from leaping or breaking through fences. It consists of a yoke with a pole inserted, pointed forward.

To thrust or push against or into with anything pointed; hence, to stir up; to excite; as, to poke a fire.

To thrust with the horns; to gore.

To put a poke on; as, to poke an ox.

To search; to feel one's way, as in the dark; to grope; as, to poke about.

Tall coarse perennial American herb having small white flowers followed by blackish-red berries on long drooping racemes; young fleshy stems are edible; berries and root are poisonous

A bag made of paper or plastic for holding customer's purchases

A sharp hand gesture (resembling a blow);

(boxing) a blow with the fist;

Poke or thrust abruptly;

Search or inquire in a meddlesome way;

Stir by poking;

Hit hard with the hand, fist, or some heavy instrument;

Make a hole by poking