noun
shiv
shihv
noun
1
A makeshift knife, often improvised from an everyday object.
"Guards found a shiv hidden under the mattress."
verb
1
To stab someone with a shiv or improvised blade.
"He was shivved in a prison yard fight."
How to Use Shiv
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA crude, homemade knife, or to stab someone with one.
Common pairings
makeshift shiv
shivved in the yard
Word Forms
shivved past tense, shivs plural, shivs singular
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Etymology
First recorded around 1915, from Romani chive/chiv, meaning "knife."