plural shivs
slang
: a small usually improvised pointed or bladed weapon
With nothing but time on their hands, the prisoners craft weapons from available resources: shivs are made from toothbrushes or pieces of metal bunks.—
Newsweek
NewsweekSome created makeshift weapons by fashioning "shivs" out of sharpened spoons and toothbrushes …—Kristian Silva
Kristian SilvaThe guards were … attacked with a makeshift weapon—a so-called shiv, fashioned from razor blades and a toothbrush …—The Irish Examiner
The Irish Examiner… remove the staple from a magazine, straighten it, mount it in a juice straw …, you got yourself a neat little shiv …—Kent H. Dixon
—sometimes used figurativelyKent H. Dixon… gave an artful lesson in how to stick a shiv into a sitting president without ever raising his voice or making a specific accusation.—Walter Shapiro
Walter Shapiro
shivved also shived; shivving also shiving; shivs
informal
: to stab or cut (someone) with a shiv (see shiv entry 1)
shivved him in the back
—often used figurativelyAny signs of dissent will result in his personally shivving the offender politically …—Hayes Brown
Hayes BrownSynonyms
Examples of shiv in a Sentence
Noun
watch yourself in Cell Block 8, or you'll end up with a shiv in your back
Recent Examples on the Web
Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 3 Oct. 2024
The victim was sitting alone at a table when a man sneaked up behind him and pulled out a shiv from his waistband.
—Rich Schapiro, NBC News, 18 Sep. 2024
Peter Larsen, Orange County Register, 14 Nov. 2024
After all, one of its tech-bro founders, Alex Mather, smugly told the New York Times in 2017 that the site’s goal was essentially to shiv every newspaper sports section around the country.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Jan. 2022
See all Example Sentences for shiv 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Chimney walks them through using the shiv to slice down to the muscle along the girl’s leg.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 3 Oct. 2024
The victim was sitting alone at a table when a man sneaked up behind him and pulled out a shiv from his waistband.
—Rich Schapiro, NBC News, 18 Sep. 2024
Verb
Shannon says, sticking the I’m-a-housewife-and-you’re-not shiv between Alexis’s ribs.
—Peter Larsen, Orange County Register, 14 Nov. 2024
After all, one of its tech-bro founders, Alex Mather, smugly told the New York Times in 2017 that the site’s goal was essentially to shiv every newspaper sports section around the country.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Jan. 2022
See all Example Sentences for shiv
Dictionary Entries Near shiv
Cite this Entry
“Shiv.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shiv. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share