English Explanatory Dictionary

dab

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To press lightly in a repetitive motion with a soft object without rubbing.
  2. To apply a substance in this way.
  3. To strike by a thrust; to hit with a sudden blow or thrust.
  4. To apply hash oil to a heated surface for the purpose of efficient combustion.
  5. To perform the dab dance move; to move both arms, parallel with one's head, to either side of the body.
  6. Synonym of daub (to mark a bingo card)
noun
  1. A soft tap or blow; a blow or peck from a bird's beak; an aimed blow.
  2. A soft, playful box given in greeting or approval.
  3. A small amount, a blob of some soft or wet substance.
  4. A small amount of hash oil.
  5. Fingerprint.
  6. A hip hop dance move in which the dancer simultaneously drops the head while raising an arm, briefly resting their face in the elbow, as if sneezing into their elbow.
  7. A dabbler.
adv
  1. With a dab, or sudden contact.
noun
  1. One who is skilful or proficient; an expert; an adept.
noun
  1. A small flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae, especially Limanda limanda; a flounder.
  2. A sand dab, a small flatfish of genus Citharichthys.
adj
  1. Bad.
noun
  1. Initialism of digital audio broadcasting.
name
  1. Initialism of Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (a pro-Beijing political party in the HKSAR).

Pronunciation

/dæb/ en-us-dab.ogg

Word forms

dab dabs dabbing dabbed more dab most dab

Etymology

From Middle English dabben (“to strike”), probably of North Germanic origin, related to Old Icelandic dabba (“to tap, slap”), perhaps ultimately imitative. Compare also with Middle Dutch dabben (“to pinch, knead, fumble, dabble”) (Dutch dabben (“(of a horse) to stamp with the forelegs”)), Dutch deppen (“to dab”), possibly German tappen (“to fumble, grope”). The noun is from Middle English dabbe (“a strike, blow”), from the verb. Related to tap. Compare also drub, dub. African-American sense of “playful box” perhaps influenced by dap (“fistbump”).

Synonyms

daub bump pat spat tit blob ace atom atomy aught bissel bit crumb glimpse dab damn dash diddly glint dot spatter drop dusting fleck glimmer hint flip flyspeck grain halfpennyworth inch iota jot lick mite modicum molecule morceau morsel mote ooch ounce particle pennyworth piece pinch relish scantling semblance scent scintilla scooch scrap scruple shred skerrick skoosh skosh sliver smattering

Antonyms

doog doogheno

Related words

dap dob tap daub dab bong dab rig dabchick

Derived words

dab out dab up vab dab pen poor dab smack-dab dab hand dab-handed dabster crawdab

Translations

Bulgarian: цапвам Bulgarian: мацвам Chinese Mandarin: 敷 Czech: jemně nanést Esperanto: dabi German: auftupfen Portuguese: aplicar de leve Ukrainian: примо́чувати Ukrainian: примочи́ти Bulgarian: мазка Czech: kapka Czech: trošička Czech: drobet Czech: troška Czech: krapet Finnish: nokare Finnish: tippa German: Klacks German: Klecks Greek: μικροποσότητα Irish: daba Swedish: klick
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