What does jibbed mean?
Jibbed is the past tense and past participle of the verb jib, meaning to refuse to move or proceed. Its best-known use is for a horse or other animal that stops, balks, or turns back because it is frightened, unwilling, or stubborn. Writers often extend the word figuratively to people, vehicles, plans, or organizations: a negotiator may jib at a proposal, or a committee may jibbed at the prospect of another delay. The expression is most familiar in British English but is also understood in American English, and its tone is usually informal or mildly literary rather than technical in the animal sense. A rarer nautical sense refers to moving or swinging a yard or boom around into the wind. Jibbed is chiefly memorable because it names the precise moment when forward motion abruptly becomes refusal. It can also be confused with jibe, which means to agree or, in another sense, to make a mocking remark.
verbJibbed is the past tense and past participle of jib, meaning to refuse to move or proceed, especially because of fear, reluctance, or obstinacy. In rarer nautical usage, it means moved or turned a yard or boom to take the wind.
- Refused to move, proceed, or participate; balked.
- Moved or swung a nautical yard or boom around to take the wind.
"The pony jibbed at the steep bank and refused to move."
"The pony jibbed at the steep bank and refused to move."
"After the third postponement, several committee members jibbed at the proposal."
One small word can bring a determined horse—and sometimes an entire plan—to a standstill.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of jibbed
Jibbed is formed regularly from jib with the suffix -ed. The ancestry of jib is uncertain, so no secure language of origin or set of cognates can be assigned. Its nautical and animal-related senses belong to a vocabulary whose deeper etymology remains obscure.
Related word forms
How jibbed is actually used
The animal-related sense is familiar chiefly in British English but is also understood and used in American English. It is usually informal or mildly literary, though figurative applications are common. The maritime sense is uncommon outside specialist nautical writing.