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tab

 - 15 dictionary results

tab

1  [tab] noun, verb, tabbed, tab⋅bing.
–noun
1. a small flap, strap, loop, or similar appendage, as on a garment, used for pulling, hanging, or decoration.
2. a tag or label.
3. a small projection from a card, paper, or folder, used as an aid in filing.
4. Informal. a bill, as for a meal in a restaurant; check.
5. a small piece attached or intended to be attached, as to an automobile license plate.
6. a small flap or tongue of material used to seal or close the opening of a container.
7. Also called tabulator. a stop on a typewriter, actuated by a key, that moves the carriage, typing element, etc., a predetermined number of spaces, used for typing material in columns, for fixed indentations, etc.
8. a programmed command on a computer, actuated by a key, that moves the cursor or printhead a predetermined number of spaces, used for keying material in columns, for fixed indentations, etc.
9. Theater.
a. a small, often narrow, drop curtain, for masking part of the stage.
b. tableau curtain.
10. Aeronautics. a small airfoil hinged to the rear portion of a control surface, as to an elevator, aileron, or rudder. Compare trim tab.
–verb (used with object)
11. to furnish or ornament with a tab or tabs.
12. to name or designate.
–verb (used without object)
13. Also, tabulate. to operate the tab function on a typewriter or computer.
—Idiom
14. keep tabs or tab on, Informal. to keep an account of; check on; observe: The police kept tabs on the suspect's activities.
Use tab in a Sentence
Origin:
1600–10; (in defs. 1–3, 5) < ?; (in defs. 7 and 8) short for tabulator; (in def. 9) short for tableau; (in defs. 4 and 14) partly from shortening of table, partly in sense of def. 1

tab

2  [tab]
–noun Informal.
1. tabloid (def. 1).
2. Slang. a tablet, as of a drug or medication.
Origin:
by shortening

tab.

 
1. tables.
2. (in prescriptions) tablet.
Origin:
< L tabella
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To tab
tab 1   (tāb)   
n.  

  1. A projection, flap, or short strip attached to an object to facilitate opening, handling, or identification.

  2. A small, usually decorative flap or tongue on a garment.

  3. A small auxiliary airfoil that is attached to a larger one and that helps stabilize an aircraft.

  4. A pull-tab.

tr.v.   tabbed, tab·bing, tabs
To supply with a tab or tabs.

[Origin unknown.]
tab 2   (tāb)   
n.  

  1. Informal

    1. A bill or check, such as one for a meal in a restaurant.

    2. Cost; price: The tab for upgrading the computers would be high.

    3. A key on a computer keyboard that, when pressed, inserts a special ASCII character used for formatting text, as in indenting a line or block of text.

    4. This special ASCII character.

  2. A tabulator on a typewriter.

  3. Computer Science

    1. A key on a computer keyboard that, when pressed, inserts a special ASCII character used for formatting text, as in indenting a line or block of text.

    2. This special ASCII character.

intr.v.   tabbed, tab·bing, tabs
To press the tab on a typewriter or computer keyboard: Tab over to the next column.

[Short for tablet or tabulation. Sense 2, short for tabulator.]
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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Slang Dictionary
tab

  1. n.
    a bill (for something). (From tabulation. See also chit.) : Marlowe paid the tab and left quietly.
  2. n.
    a tablet (of medicine). : Take a couple of aspirin tabs and call me in the morning.
  3. tv.
    to identify someone. : I couldn't quite tab her, but when she started talking I knew right away who she was.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

tab  (1)
"small flap," 1607, possibly a dialectal word, of uncertain origin. Often interchangeable with tag (1). The verb meaning "to designate, label" is 1924, perhaps an alteration of tag (1).

tab  (2)
"account, bill, check," 1889, Amer.Eng. colloquial, probably a shortened form of tabulation or of tablet in the sense of "a sheet for writing on." Fig. phrase to keep a tab on is recorded from 1890.

tab  (3)
1961, shortened form of tablet (esp. one of sugar containing LSD). As an abbreviation of tabloid (newspaper) it is 1990s slang. As a short form of tabulator key of a typewriter (later computer) it is recorded from 1916.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Financial Dictionary

TAB

See tax anticipation bill.

Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms by David L. Scott.
Copyright © 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: tab
Pronunciation: 'tab
Function: noun
: TABLET
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Computing Dictionary

TAB
HT

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Idioms & Phrases

tab

see keep tabs on.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Abbreviations & Acronyms
tab
tablet
TAB
timing and acquisition bit
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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