cab

cab¹ (kæb)

—n
1.	a. a taxi
	b. (as modifier): a cab rank
2.	the enclosed compartment of a lorry, locomotive, crane, etc, from which it is driven or operated
3.	(formerly) a light horse-drawn vehicle used for public hire
4.	informal (Austral) first cab off the rank the first person, etc, to do or take advantage of something

[C19: shortened from cabriolet]

cab or kab² (kæb)

—n
	an ancient Hebrew measure equal to about 2.3 litres (4 pints)

[C16: from Hebrew qabh container, something hollowed out]

kab or kab²

—n

[C16: from Hebrew qabh container, something hollowed out]

CAB

—*abbreviation for*
1.	(in Britain) Citizens' Advice Bureau
2.	(in the US) Civil Aeronautics Board

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

cab

1826, "light, horse-drawn carriage," shortening of cabriolet (1763), from Fr. cabriolet (18c.), dim. of cabrioler "leap, caper" (16c./17c.), from It. capriolare "jump in the air," from L. capreolus "wild goat, roebuck." The carriages had springy suspensions. Extended to hansoms and other types of carriages,

then extended to similar parts of locomotives (1859). Applied especially to public horse carriages, then to automobiles-for-hire (1899) when these replaced them. Cabby/cabbie is from 1859 (see taxi).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source

American Heritage

Abbreviations & Acronyms

cab
cabernet

CAB

Civil Aeronautics Board
coronary artery bypass

Easton

Bible Dictionary

Cab definition

hollow (R.V., "kab"), occurs only in 2 Kings 6:25; a dry measure, the sixth part of a seah, and the eighteenth part of an ephah, equal to about two English quarts.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
Cite This Source

Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia

cab

chauffeur-driven automobile available for hire to carry passengers between any two points within a city or its suburbs for a fare determined by a meter or zone system or a flat rate. The taxicab is named after the taximeter, an instrument invented by Wilhelm Bruhn in 1891 that automatically recorded the distance traveled and/or the time consumed, thus enabling the fare to be accurately measured. The term cab derives from the cabriolet, a two-wheeled, one-horse carriage often let out for hire

Learn more about cab with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source

Example sentences from the web

That take, the timing was perfect and the cab came out of nowhere and nearly hit them.

The city has a municipal bus service and is served by four taxi cab companies.

Remove ads like these. Upgrade now!

Matching Quote

"Pockets: What color is a giraffe?
Dallas: Well, mostly yellow.
Pockets: And what's the color of a New York taxi cab?
Dallas: Mostly yellow.
Pockets: I drove a cab in Brooklyn. I just pretend it's rush hour in Flatbush and in I go."

-Leigh Brackett