gibe

A gibe is a sharp, unkind remark that mocks someone. It is stronger than playful teasing and usually carries sarcasm or scorn. If a person laughs at someone's mistake and throws in a cruel comment, that comment is a gibe. As a verb, it means to make that kind of mocking remark. The word is usually used for language that is meant to hurt, not for friendly joking.

To gibe means to speak in a mocking, taunting way, often with sarcasm or open scorn. It can be used as a verb for the act of making such remarks, and as a noun for the remark itself. A gibe is not light, friendly teasing. It usually has an edge and is meant to make someone feel small, foolish, or ashamed.

In real use, the word often appears in situations of ridicule: someone in a crowd throws out a cruel comment, a rival answers with a sneering line, or a person keeps making mean little jokes at another person's expense. In each case, the idea is the same: the speaker is not trying to help or joke warmly, but to mock.

You can also use it as a noun: "His comment was a cruel gibe." Older literature uses the word fairly often, including Shakespeare. In Hamlet, the line "Where be your gibes now?" uses the noun form to mean jokes or mocking remarks.

So when you see gibe, think of a cutting remark that mocks rather than helps. The word points to ridicule with a nasty edge, whether it names the insult itself or the act of delivering it.