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tabs - 4 dictionary results

tab

1  [tab] noun, verb, tabbed, tab⋅bing.
Use tabs in a Sentence
–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.
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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To tabs
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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