Translate jackknife | into French | into Italian | into Spanish Definition of jackknife
noun (plural jackknives)
1a knife with a folding blade.
2a dive in which the body is first bent at the waist and then straightened.
3 Statistics a method of assessing the variability of data by repeating a calculation on the sets of data obtained by removing one value from the complete set.
verb (jackknifed, jackknifing)
[with object] move (one’s body) into a bent or doubled-up position:the Major jackknifed his thin body at the waist [no object]:she jackknifed into a sitting position [no object] (of an articulated vehicle) bend into a V-shape in an uncontrolled skidding movement. [no object] (of a diver) perform a jackknife.
