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jackknife

[jak-nahyf] / ˈdʒækˌnaɪf /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

The keys for these models are jackknife fobs, wherein the metal blade of the key can fold in and out of the plastic fob.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 1, 2023

The officer had gotten out of a vehicle after seeing a semi-trailer jackknife on the road and the patrol car was struck by a passenger car.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 10, 2022

“That stretch of Virginia is so brittle that all it takes is a couple semis to jackknife and you shut down the main north-south artery along the Eastern Seaboard,” Ali said.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 5, 2022

The marlin saw me – with that big eye – and did a jackknife.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 10, 2020

The jackknife she picked out of a glass-fronted case was the most expensive thing she bought.

From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt

The catalog explains how Mr. Donati, a native of Milan, traveled in the American Southwest and Hudson Bay in the 1930s and traded European pheasant feathers, beads and jackknives for Indian artwork.

From New York Times ● May 6, 2010

He reports he performed the movie's swan dives and jackknives in "all but a fraction of a shot."

From Time Magazine Archive

After that, it was no trouble to win the National A.A.U. high & low-board championships with comparatively easy jackknives and gainers.

From Time Magazine Archive

Traditional folders, jackknives and fixed-blade knives such as the Bear Paw, Middleman and Sharpfinger have been standards in the Imperial Schrade product line.

From Time Magazine Archive

He wanted to sit with them on curbstones and compare the sharpness of jackknives, the distance and arcs of spitting.

From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison

It jackknifes its sleek body and leaps out of my hand, scurrying off into the landscaping.

From Salon ● Jun. 15, 2019

“The problem is when a tractor-trailer jackknifes, it’s not like a Honda Accord, — it takes out the entire roadway,” he said.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 21, 2018

You may not be able to perform as many jackknifes, and that's fine.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2014

Here, the cities of Florence and Muscle Shoals flank opposite sides of the Tennessee River just before it jackknifes back up into the state from whence it came.

From Southern Living ● Dec. 25, 2012

Legg not only jackknifes over eleven barrels but also leaps through a revolving, flaming ring.

From Time Magazine Archive

The episode later reveals that a jackknifed big rig unleashed 22 million killer bees into L.A. when it crashed on the 4th Street Bridge.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2024

Parts of Interstate 80 between Des Moines and Iowa City were repeatedly snagged overnight by jackknifed tractor-trailers and multiple-car pileups, the Department of Transportation reported.

From New York Times ● Jan. 12, 2024

Authorities believe the tanker accident occurred when a car tried to pass the truck, which jackknifed, overturned and landed on a trailer hitch near the road, which punched a hole in it.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 23, 2023

Four lorries have jackknifed in an eight-vehicle crash, causing major delays on a main road through Essex.

From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2023

The Goober sat on the curbstone, his legs jackknifed, his feet in the gutter.

From "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier

By the end of the piece, his upper body was jackknifing toward the keys at flourishes, with his left foot stomping.

From New York Times ● May 11, 2023

Within moments, police said more tractor trailers were jackknifing behind it.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 8, 2022

Lutiant is jackknifing through the pandemic in a way that’s by turns funny and dissociative and largely consistent with responses people seem to be having now.

From Slate ● May 1, 2020

A look at Newser's home page on Monday morning compels with all the sick attraction exerted by a semi jackknifing across the interstate, setting in motion a 20-car pileup.

From Salon ● Apr. 5, 2010

I wedged my body down through the nearly solid sea of coils, forcing my legs deep into the cockpit and jackknifing my knees so that my upper body swung downward and inward.

From "Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story" by Michael Collins




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