stab in the back
Speech parts
1. stab in the back - Noun
2. stab in the back - Verb
3. stab in the back - Phrase
Meaning
stab in the back (plural stabs in the back)
An act of betrayal or treachery.
stab in the back (third-person singular simple present stabs in the back, present participle stabbing in the back, simple past and past participle stabbed in the back)
(idiomatic) To betray (somebody).
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Examples
Brünnhilde, seeking revenge for Siegfried's manifest treachery, joins the plot and tells Hagen that Siegfried would be vulnerable to a stab in the back.
Hindenburg testified that the German Army had been on the verge of winning the war in the autumn of 1918 and that the defeat had been precipitated by a Dolchstoß ("stab in the back") by disloyal elements on the home front and unpatriotic politicians.