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dab - 14 dictionary results

dab

1  [dab] verb, dabbed, dab⋅bing, noun
Use dab in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to pat or tap gently, as with something soft or moist: The child dabbed his eyes with the handkerchief.
2. to apply (a substance) by light strokes: He dabbed the ointment on the rash.
3. to strike, esp. lightly, as with the hand.
4. Masonry. to dress (stonework) with a pointed tool.
5. Western U.S. to throw (a rope or line) in an effort to lasso or catch something: Joe dabbed his rope on the steer.
–verb (used without object)
6. to strike lightly; make a dab; pat: She dabbed at the stain on her dress.
–noun
7. a quick or light blow; a pat, as with the hand or something soft.
8. a small moist lump or mass: a dab of butter.
9. a small quantity: a dab of powder.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME dabben; cf. Norw dabbe shuffle along, walk slowly, G Tappe pat, tappen to feel along, grope

Synonyms:
8. pat, bit; dollop, smidgen.

dab

2  [dab]
–noun
any of several flatfishes of the genus Limanda, esp. the European flatfish, L. limanda.
Origin:
1570–80; perh. special use of dab 1

dab

3  [dab] Slang.
–noun
1. Also called dab hand. a person skilled in something; an expert.
2. an excellent or extraordinary person or thing.
–adjective
3. expert; excellent; extraordinary.
Origin:
1685–95; of uncert. orig.

DAB

 
Dictionary of American Biography.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To dab
dab 1   (dāb)   
v.   dabbed, dab·bing, dabs

v.   tr.
  1. To apply with short poking strokes: dabbed some paint on the worn spots.
  2. To cover lightly with or as if with a moist substance.
  3. To strike or hit lightly.
v.   intr.
To tap gently; pat.
n.  
  1. A small amount: a dab of jelly.
  2. A quick light pat.

[Middle English dabben, to strike.]
dab 2   (dāb)   
n.  Any of various flatfishes, chiefly of the genera Limanda and Hippoglossoides, related to and resembling the flounders.

[Middle English dabbe.]
dab 3   (dāb)   
n.   Chiefly British
A dab hand.

[Origin unknown.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Dab

Dab\ (d[a^]b), n. [Perh. corrupted fr. adept.] A skillful hand; a dabster; an expert. [Colloq.]

One excels at a plan or the titlepage, another works away at the body of the book, and the third is a dab at an index. --Goldsmith.

Dab

Dab\, n. [Perh. so named from its quickness in diving beneath the sand. Cf. Dabchick.] (Zo["o]l.) A name given to several species of flounders, esp. to the European species, Pleuronectes limanda. The American rough dab is Hippoglossoides platessoides.

Dab

Dab\ (d[a^]b), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Dabbed (d[a^]bd); p. pr. & vb. n. Dabbing.] [OE. dabben to strice; akin to OD. dabben to pinch, knead, fumble, dabble, and perh. to G. tappen to grope.]

1. To strike or touch gently, as with a soft or moist substance; to tap; hence, to besmear with a dabber.

A sore should . . . be wiped . . . only by dabbing it over with fine lint. --S. Sharp.

2. To strike by a thrust; to hit with a sudden blow or thrust. "To dab him in the neck." --Sir T. More.

Dab

Dab\, n. 1. A gentle blow with the hand or some soft substance; a sudden blow or hit; a peck.

A scratch of her claw, a dab of her beak. --Hawthorne.

2. A small mass of anything soft or moist.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : dab
Spanish: tocar ligeramente,
German: abtupfen,
Japanese: 軽く押しあてる
More Translations »

dab 
c.1307, "heavy blow with a weapon," from dabben "to strike," perhaps imitative. Modern sense of "strike with a slight, quick pressure" developed by 1592, infl. by Fr. dauber (see daub). Dab hand is British slang, 1828, from dab "expert" (1691), said to be school slang, of unknown origin.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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DAB
Dictionary of American Biography
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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dab

any of the flatfishes of the genus Limanda, family Pleuronectidae, found in the North Atlantic and North Pacific. Dabs are right-eyed flatfish-i.e., the eyes are usually on the right side of the head. The dab of European waters is L. limanda, an abundant and valuable food fish. It is small, usually under 25 cm (10 inches) long, and light brown, with or without dark spots.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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