What does "dab" mean?
A soft tap or blow; a blow or peck from a bird's beak; an aimed blow.
Dab
/dæb/ adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A soft tap or blow; a blow or peck from a bird's beak; an aimed blow.
- Grammar: dab is listed as adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: pat, tap, ace, adept.
- Useful contrasts: doogheno, firm press, heavy touch.
- Usage evidence: Kansas is smack dab in the middle of the US.
How to use "dab"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "dab" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "dab" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "dab" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "dab" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "dab" is acting as adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "pat" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "dab", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A soft tap or blow; a blow or peck from a bird's beak; an aimed blow.
"I promise you nothing,' said the dolls' dressmaker, dabbing two dabs at him with her needle, as if she put out both his eyes."
- 2 One who is skilful or proficient; an expert; an adept.
"for little Urchin as he is, he‘s ſuch a Dab at his Bow and Arrows‘ that ne‘re a Finsbury Archer of ‘em all can pretend to come near him."
- 3 A small flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae, especially Limanda limanda; a flounder.
- 4 Initialism of digital audio broadcasting. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 5 a light touch or stroke wordnet
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 A soft, playful box given in greeting or approval.
"She gave a few more dabs to his buttocks. “There. By the time you've made love to me those weals will have dried up.”"
- 7 A sand dab, a small flatfish of genus Citharichthys. US
- 8 a dance move in which the dancer simultaneously drops the head while raising an arm and the elbow in a gesture that has been noted to resemble sneezing wordnet
- 9 A small amount, a blob of some soft or wet substance.
"a dab of glue"
- 10 a small quantity of something moist or liquid wordnet
- 11 A small amount, a blob of some soft or wet substance.; A small amount of hash oil. slang
- 12 Fingerprint. British, dated, in-plural
"One had Glash's dabs on it and a half-inch of Macallan at the bottom."
- 13 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.
- 14 A dabbler. obsolete
Verb
- 1 To press lightly in a repetitive motion with a soft object without rubbing. transitive
"I dabbed my face with a towel."
- 2 to smoke marijuana using butane hash oil wordnet
- 3 To apply a substance in this way. transitive
"The nurse will dab some ointment on that gash."
- 4 hit lightly wordnet
- 5 To strike by a thrust; to hit with a sudden blow or thrust.
"1532-1533, Thomas More, The Confutation of Tyndale's Answer to dabbe him in the necke"
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 apply (usually a liquid) to a surface wordnet
- 7 To apply hash oil to a heated surface for the purpose of efficient combustion. slang
- 8 to perform a dance move in which the dancer simultaneously drops the head while raising an arm and the elbow in a gesture that has been noted to resemble sneezing wordnet
- 9 To perform the dab dance move; to move both arms, parallel with one's head, to either side of the body. intransitive
"Look, my bruddas don't dab, we just vossi bop"
- 10 Synonym of daub (to mark a bingo card)
Adjective
- 1 Bad. obsolete
"Business topics are discussed in a most peculiar style. One man takes the pipe from his mouth and says, "Bill made a doogheno hit this morning." "Jem," says another, to a man just entering, "you'll stand a top o' reeb?" "On," answers Jem, "I've had a trosseno tol, and have been doing dab.""
Adverb
- 1 With a dab, or sudden contact. not-comparable
Proper Noun
- 1 Initialism of Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (a pro-Beijing political party in the HKSAR). Hong-Kong, abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Kansas is smack dab in the middle of the US."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "dab"?
Common synonyms include: pat, tap, ace, adept, aftershaves, applied linguistic approach.
How do you use "dab" in a sentence?
Kansas is smack dab in the middle of the US.
How do you pronounce "dab"?
Pronounced /dæb/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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”).
Etymology 2
Unknown. First use in print was in 1691, in The Athenian Mercury; it is also found in the Dictionary of the Canting Crew of 1698; see quotations for both. Originally used in the cant of criminals, and later in school slang. It may be a profound alteration of adept, likely from deliberate slangy usage thereof (rather than natural sound-change), which if true would give such earlier forms as *adep (or *dept) > *dep > *deb.
Etymology 3
Late Middle English dabbe, of unknown origin; perhaps related to sense 1 (“to press against lightly”) as in "a soft mass dabbed down."
Etymology 4
Back slang for bad.