What does "drab" mean?
A fabric, usually of thick cotton or wool, having a dull brownish yellow, dull grey, or dun colour.
Drab
/dɹæb/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A fabric, usually of thick cotton or wool, having a dull brownish yellow, dull grey, or dun colour.
- Grammar: drab is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: arere, arid, ashen, bag.
- Useful contrasts: aesthetic practice in education, aesthetic standard, alive being.
- Usage evidence: At the end of a long drab passage my new acquaintance pushed open a door and turned on an electric switch. A number of lamps shining through tinted shades bathed the whole great room before us in a ruddy radiance.
How to use "drab"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "drab" 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 "drab" 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 "drab" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "drab" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
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- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "drab" is acting as adj, 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
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3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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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 fabric, usually of thick cotton or wool, having a dull brownish yellow, dull grey, or dun colour. also, attributive, countable, uncountable
"John Hanſell, of Bridport, in Dorſetſhire, ſail-cloth manufacturer, ſtates in his evidence, that the ſale of coarſe woollen cloath was not then a twentieth part of what it had been for the common people formerly, owing to their ſubſtituting Ruſſia drabs and ravenſduck as garments in place of the coarſe woollens."
- 2 A dirty or untidy woman; a slattern. also, attributive, dated
"[C]ertainly thou deſireſt but thy right, that canſt read a rhetorique, or logique lecture to Hecuba in the art of raving, and inſtruct Tiſiphone herſelfe in her owne gnaſhing language. Other he, or ſhe, drabs of the curſteſt or vengeableſt rankes, are but dipped or dyed in the art; not ſuch a belldam in the whole kingdome of frogges, as thy croking, and moſt clamorous ſelfe."
- 3 A small amount, especially of money. also, attributive
"Thanks to my stars, I once can see / A window here from scribbling free! / Here no conceited coxcombs pass, / To scratch their paltry drabs on glass; / Nor party-fool is calling names, / Or dealing crowns to George and James."
- 4 A box used in a saltworks for holding the salt when taken out of the boiling pans. also, attributive
"Thoſe therefore, who are moſt exact in pickling beef for exportation, [...] take their carcaſſes as ſoon as cold, and cut them into proper pieces; and after rubbing each piece carefully with good white ſalt, lay them on heaps in a cool cellar, in a drab with a ſhelving bottom, where they remain for four or five days, 'till the blood hath drained out of the larger veſſels."
- 5 An instance of a transgender or non-binary person presenting as the gender corresponding to their sex assigned at birth instead of that corresponding to their internal gender identity (most commonly a trans woman dressed as a man). also, attributive, uncountable
"Just for those who may not be aware of the term, “drab” is how you might describe a transgendered person (including transsexuals, crossdressers, drag queens, etc.) that is presenting as their birth sex. For instance, if Rain is dressed as a boy, she is dressed in “drab”. My original idea had Ruby on this page too, but that took away from the “drab” theme."
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 Poison. also, attributive, obsolete, slang, uncountable
- 7 a dull greyish to yellowish or light olive brown wordnet
- 8 The color of this fabric. also, attributive, countable, uncountable
"Most of the colours called drabs appear to me the same by day-light and candle-light."
- 9 A promiscuous woman, a slut; a prostitute. also, attributive, dated
"Take heed to false harlots, and more, ye wot what. / If noise ye heare, / Looke all be cleare: / Least drabs doe noie thee, / And theeues destroie thee."
- 10 Often in the plural form drabs: apparel, especially trousers, made from this fabric. also, attributive, countable, uncountable
"He wore a pretty large wig, which had once been white, but was now of a browniſh yellow; his coat was one of thoſe modeſt-coloured drabs which mock the injuries of duſt and dirt; [...]"
- 11 A dull or uninteresting appearance or situation, unremarkable. also, attributive, broadly, countable, uncountable
"The slimy little causeway had dropped into the river by a slow process of suicide, and two or three stumps of piles and a rusty iron mooring-ring were all that remained of the departed Break-Neck glories. [...] [T]hrough three-fourths of its rising tides the dirty indecorous drab of a river would come solitarily oozing and lapping at the rusty ring, [...]"
Verb
- 1 To consort with prostitutes; to whore. also, attributive, intransitive, obsolete
"You may ſay, you ſaw him at ſuch a time, marke you mee, / At game, or drincking, ſwearing, or drabbing, / You may go ſo farre."
- 2 To poison. also, attributive, obsolete, slang
""What do you mean by drows, Chaldea?" "Poison, no less. You look drabbed, for sure." "Drabbed?" "Poisoned. But I waste the kalo jib on you, my Gorgious. God bless you for a sick one, say I, and that's a bad dukkerin, the which in gentle Romany means fortune, my Gentile swell.""
Adjective
- 1 Of the color of some types of drabcloth: dull brownish yellow or dun. also, attributive
"The coffee presently appeared, brought not as usual by the footman, in scarlet and drab, but by the old butler, in threadbare but well-brushed black, [...]"
- 2 Particularly of color: dull, uninteresting. also, attributive, broadly
"[T]he man was about fifty-two—had a ſmall cane under his arm—was dreſs'd in a dark drab-colour'd coat, waiſtcoat, and breeches, which ſeem'd to have seen ſome years ſervice—they were ſtill clean, and there was a little air of frugal propretè throughout him."
Adjective
- 1 causing dejection wordnet
- 2 of a light brownish green color wordnet
- 3 lacking brightness or color; dull wordnet
- 4 lacking in liveliness or charm or surprise wordnet
Antonyms
Example
"At the end of a long drab passage my new acquaintance pushed open a door and turned on an electric switch. A number of lamps shining through tinted shades bathed the whole great room before us in a ruddy radiance."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "drab"?
Common synonyms include: arere, arid, ashen, bag, baggage, bat.
How do you use "drab" in a sentence?
At the end of a long drab passage my new acquaintance pushed open a door and turned on an electric switch. A number of lamps shining through tinted shades bathed the whole great room before us in a ruddy radiance.
How do you pronounce "drab"?
Pronounced /dɹæb/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Probably from Middle French and Old French drap (“cloth”), either: * from Late Latin drappus (“drabcloth, kerchief; piece of cloth”), most likely from Gaulish *drappo, from Proto-Indo-European *drep- (“to scratch, tear”); or * from Frankish *drapi, *drāpi (“that which is fulled, drabcloth”), from Proto-Germanic *drap-, *drēp- (“something beaten”), from *drepaną (“to beat, strike”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrebʰ- (“to beat, crush; to make or become thick”). The English word is cognate with Ancient Greek δρέπω (drépō, “to pluck”), Avestan 𐬛𐬭𐬀𐬟𐬱𐬀 (drafša, “banner, flag”), Lithuanian drãpanos (“household linens”), Old Norse trefja (“to rub, wear out”), trof (“fringes”), Sanskrit द्रापि (drāpi, “mantle, gown”), Serbo-Croatian drápati (“to scratch, scrape”)).
Etymology 2
The origin of the noun is uncertain; compare Middle English drabelen, drablen, draplen (“to soil; make dirty; to drag on the ground or through mud”), and Low German drabbe (“dirt, mud”), drabbeln (“to soil”), and Old Norse drabba (“to make drab; make dirty”), the latter three ultimately from Proto-Germanic *drepaną (“to hit, strike”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreb- (“to crush, grind; to kill”). The word is also likely to be related to Dutch drab (“dregs, sediment”), Irish drabog, Scottish Gaelic drabag (“dirty woman; slattern”). The verb is derived from the noun.
Etymology 3
Probably related to drop (“small mass of liquid”).
Etymology 4
Unknown.
Etymology 5
Alteration of drag, possibly via the folk-etymological backronym "DRessed As a Girl" (with boy replacing girl).
Etymology 6
Of Romany origin.