noun

jack

JAK

noun

A mechanical device used to lift something heavy off the ground, especially to raise a car to change a tyre.

"He grabbed the jack from the trunk to change the flat tire."

"Make sure the jack is on level ground before you lift the car."

The playing card ranking between the ten and the queen, showing a young page or knave.

"She needed just one more jack to complete her hand."

A socket used to plug in an electrical or audio device.

"Plug the headphones into the jack on the side of the laptop."

Informal: money.

"He didn't have enough jack to cover the bill."

verb

To lift something using a mechanical jack.

"They jacked up the car before removing the wheel."

Informal: to raise sharply, especially a price.

"The airline jacked up ticket prices over the holidays."

Slang: to steal something, especially a vehicle, often by force.

"The thieves jacked the car right off the driveway."

How to Use Jack

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishHas a huge range of meanings, but the everyday ones are: the tool for lifting a car, the playing card, a plug socket, or (slang) money.

Common mistake

"Jack up" can mean either "physically lift with a jack" or "raise a price sharply" — context decides which.

Common pairings

car jack jack up the price jack of all trades headphone jack

Word Forms

more jack comparative, jacked past tense, jacked past tense, jacks plural, jacks plural, jacks plural, jacks plural, jacks plural, jacks singular, jacks singular, most jack superlative

Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.

Test yourself on “jack” A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage →

Fill the Gap

Can you complete this real example?

He grabbed the _____ from the trunk to change the flat tire.

Etymology

From the medieval given name "Jacques" (via Anglo-Norman), which became a generic English word for "a man" or "a fellow" and later attached itself to countless tools, devices, and objects.

Rhymes for jack

ACK hack back tack wack pack sack rack lack Mack Zack aback

See all rhymes for jack →