jar
1 Americannoun
-
a broad-mouthed container, usually cylindrical and of glass or earthenware.
a cookie jar.
-
the quantity such a container can or does hold.
verb (used without object)
-
jars,
present (3rd person singular)
-
jarred,
past participle, past
-
jarring
present participle
-
to have a harshly unpleasant or perturbing effect on one's nerves, feelings, thoughts, etc..
The sound of the alarm jarred.
-
to produce a harsh, grating sound; sound discordantly.
-
to vibrate audibly; rattle.
The window jarred in the frame.
-
to vibrate or shake.
-
to conflict, clash, or disagree.
verb (used with object)
-
jars,
present (3rd person singular)
-
jarred,
past participle, past
-
jarring
present participle
-
to cause to rattle or shake.
-
to have a sudden and unpleasant effect upon (the feelings, nerves, etc.).
The burglary violently jarred their sense of security.
-
to cause to sound harshly or discordantly.
noun
-
a jolt or shake; a vibrating movement, as from concussion.
-
a sudden unpleasant effect upon the mind or feelings; shock.
-
a harsh, grating sound.
-
a discordant sound or combination of sounds.
-
a quarrel or disagreement, especially a minor one.
noun
idioms
verb
-
to vibrate or cause to vibrate
-
to make or cause to make a harsh discordant sound
-
(often foll by on) to have a disturbing or painful effect (on the nerves, mind, etc)
-
(intr) to disagree; clash
noun
-
a jolt or shock
-
a harsh discordant sound
noun
-
a wide-mouthed container that is usually cylindrical, made of glass or earthenware, and without handles
-
Also: jarful. the contents or quantity contained in a jar
-
informal a glass of alcoholic drink, esp beer
to have a jar with someone
-
obsolete a measure of electrical capacitance
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
jarsimple
-
jarssimple
-
have jarredperfect
-
has jarredperfect
-
am jarringprogressive
-
are jarringprogressive
-
is jarringprogressive
-
have been jarringperfect progressive
-
has been jarringperfect progressive
Past
-
jarredsimple
-
had jarredperfect
-
was jarringprogressive
-
were jarringprogressive
-
had been jarringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of jar1
First recorded in 1585–95; Middle English jarre “liquid measure smaller than a barrel,” possibly from Old French jarre, from Spanish or Portuguese jarra, jarro “a jar, pitcher,” or from Medieval Latin jarra, from Old Provençal jarra, from Arabic jarrah “earthen water vessel”
Origin of jar2
First recorded in 1520–30; probably imitative; cf. chirr
Origin of jar3
Explanation
A jar is a smooth-sided, round container that's often made of glass. Jars are useful for storing food, from rice to tea bags to cookies. A wide-mouth jar made of pottery might hold Oreos, and a small, short jar could contain homemade jam. When you put something in a jar, you jar it. Another way to use the verb version of jar is to mean "shock painfully or unpleasantly:" "Every bump we drove over in the old Jeep would jar my whole body." The jar that's a container probably stems from the Middle French jarre, "liquid measure."
Vocabulary lists containing jar
Essential Three-Letter Words, Part 1
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"A Night to Remember," Vocabulary from the history writing
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The Darkest Minds
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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:
In January 2018, Unilever announced it would close the Carrow plant and the last jar of mustard rolled off the production line in 2019 before the factory was closed in 2020.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
Following his arrest, officers strip-searched him and went through property that included a handgun, a silencer and a jar of Skippy peanut butter.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
You can generally find these items for between $15 and $40 for a two- to four-ounce jar.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
Richard Thomas came out carrying venison and beef sausage, banana nut bread, a dog toy and a jar of apple maple bacon jam.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
I picked some flowers and put them in a jar for my desk and some in another jar for Mom’s desk too.
From "Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer" by Kelly Jones
Archaeologists have found pieces of Greek pottery, as well as rooms and large jars for storing goods from the harbour, discoveries that Karam said showed the ancient city's "lively commercial activity".
From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026
Meghan sells fruit spreads in $12 individual jars or $42 for a trio.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Instead, he saw hundreds of amphorae - tall ceramic jars used to store goods in the ancient era, mostly wine, oil or grain.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
Wearing disposable gloves, he used aluminum foil to collect the meteorite fragments and placed them in glass jars.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026
I was separating screws from nails into jars on your workbench when they came up the path.
From "Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer" by Kelly Jones
On the other goes a coarse, olive-bar-inspired romesco made with jarred roasted peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, salted roasted almonds and smoked paprika.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
"I jarred my knee earlier so i'm going to have to go and get that checked out."
From BBC ● May 14, 2026
Scientists, jarred by Beecher’s findings, grew more invested in ruling out the possibility that a drug’s effects were due to placebo.
From Slate ● Jan. 30, 2026
The lack of clarity raises the prospect that the chaos of the past few days, which jarred markets and stress tested trans-Atlantic diplomacy, could return in the near future.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026
Davos almost bit his tongue off when his teeth jarred together.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
This shift in focus was jarring for the Post, which had previously published a diversity of viewpoints in its opinion pages while maintaining a largely liberal editorial orientation.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
Niewiadoma-Phinney is a perennially upbeat, thoughtful rider, which is part of why her anger was so jarring: it isn’t really her style.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Because we all remember how frequently the self-inflicted damages were occurring during that bizarre and jarring stretch starting late last year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
That sum was jarring enough to send me hunting for answers.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Annabeth tried to speed up, but she couldn’t go much faster without losing her balance or jarring her broken ankle.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
