Idiom

Stab someone in the back

What does "Stab someone in the back" mean?

Hurt someone who was close to us by betraying them secretly and breaking their trust.

Stab someone in the back

First seen in James Joyce’s Ulysees, 1922.

Hurt someone who was close to us by betraying them secretly and breaking their trust.

Worldwide.

  • All my friends promised to vote for me but when the election came and I got no votes I knew I'd been stabbed in the back.