jawbone

1 of 2

noun

jaw·​bone ˈjȯ-ˌbōn 

: jaw sense 1a

especially : mandible

jawbone

2 of 2

verb

jawboned; jawboning; jawbones

transitive verb

: to speak forcefully and persuasively to

jawboned them into accepting the deal

intransitive verb

: to talk especially forcefully and persuasively

jawboning about the tax cuts

Examples of jawbone in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Are people dropping these notions of specific turn-on in behaviors or specific details of reproduction or jawbones or whatever? —Janna Levin, Quanta Magazine, 24 Oct. 2024

The scientific smoking gun for early horse domestication, though, was a set of changes found on some Botai horse teeth and jawbones. —William Taylor, The Conversation, 3 Sep. 2024

Verb

Since at least the 1990s, the conventional wisdom among presidents and their close advisers has been that jawboning the Fed is counterproductive. —Neil Irwin, Axios, 9 Aug. 2024

The jawboning case was one of several high-profile matters the court is deciding at intersection of the First Amendment and social media. —Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 26 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1965, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Kids Definition

jawbone

noun

jaw·​bone

ˈjȯ-ˈbōn,

-ˌbōn

: one of the bones of an animal's jaw

especially : mandible sense 1a

Medical Definition

jawbone

noun

jaw·​bone ˈjȯ-ˈbōn, -ˌbōn 

: jaw sense 1

especially : mandible