jibe
jibe Lexical Profile
jibe Game Scores & Validity
• verb
North American To be in accord, harmony, or agreement; to tally or match (usually followed by 'with').
"The witness's latest testimony does not jibe with the timeline established by the physical evidence."
To make insulting, mocking, or jeering remarks; to taunt (also spelled 'gibe').
"Critics jibed at the director's overly ambitious claims before the film was even released."
American To shift a fore-and-aft sail or boom forcefully from one side of a vessel to the other while sailing before the wind, or to alter course in this manner (spelled 'gybe' in British English).
"The skipper warned the passengers to duck their heads just before he jibed the mainsail."
• noun
An insulting, mocking, or jeering remark; a taunt (also spelled 'gibe').
"The speaker calmly ignored the partisan jibes from the back of the auditorium."
American The act or maneuver of shifting a fore-and-aft sail or boom across a vessel's centerline when sailing before the wind (spelled 'gybe' in British English).
"The crew prepared for a quick jibe as they rounded the downwind buoy."
Word Nuance & Usage
'Jibe', 'gibe', and 'jive' are frequently confused. 'Jibe' means to agree or be in accord (usually used with 'with'), to shift a sail, or (as a variant of 'gibe') to make a mocking remark; 'jive' refers to swing music or deceptive talk and should not be used to mean 'agree'.
• Rhymes for jibe
Word Origin & Etymology
The nautical sense derives from late 17th-century Dutch 'gijben', meaning to shift a fore-and-aft sail. The sense meaning 'to agree or accord' arose in early 19th-century American English, while the sense meaning 'a taunt' is a spelling variant of 16th-century 'gibe', possibly from Old French 'giber' (to handle roughly).