What does "slab" mean?
A large, flat piece of solid material; a solid object that is large and flat.
Slab
/slæb/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A large, flat piece of solid material; a solid object that is large and flat.
- Grammar: slab is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: bar, beam, billet, billets.
- Useful contrasts: keep whole, liston, peel off.
- Usage evidence: A heavy stone slab was lowered over the grave.
How to use "slab"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "slab" 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 "slab" 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 "slab" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "slab" 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 "slab" 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
Compare it with "bar" 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.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "slab", 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 large, flat piece of solid material; a solid object that is large and flat.
"There were no windows in the inn. They were not required, since the interstices between the slabs suffered the wind, the rain, and the light of day to penetrate simultaneously."
- 2 Mud, sludge, or other viscous matter. archaic, uncountable
"Some do also plant oziers in their eights, like quick-sets, thick, and (near the water) keep them not more than half a foot above ground; but then they must be diligently cleansed from moss, slab, and ouze, and frequently prun'd (especially the smaller spires) to form single shoots;[…]."
- 3 A car that has been modified with equipment such as loudspeakers, lights, special paint, hydraulics, and other accessories. Southern-US, slang
"Pull me over, try to check my slab"
- 4 A bird, the wryneck. British, dialectal, obsolete
- 5 A sequence of 12 adjacent bits, serving as a byte in some computers.
Show 14 more definitions
- 6 block consisting of a thick piece of something wordnet
- 7 A paving stone; a flagstone.
- 8 A carton containing 24 cans (chiefly of beer). Australia
"The Australians murder a few slabs of beer and the New Zealanders murder a few vowels."
- 9 An outside piece taken from a log or timber when sawing it into boards, planks, etc.
- 10 The slack part of a sail.
- 11 A very large wave.
"After being towed into a massive slab, Dorian dropped down the face and caught a rail, putting him in a near-impossible situation."
- 12 The amount by which a cache can grow or shrink, used in memory allocation.
- 13 Part of a tectonic plate that is being, or has been, subducted.
"Being driven by the gravitational force, the subducting Pacific slab continues to sink down to the boundary between the upper and lower mantle […]"
- 14 A poured-concrete foundation for a building.
"Next week they'll pour the slab that the shed will sit on."
- 15 A region between two parallel lines in the Euclidean plane, or between two parallel planes in three-dimensional Euclidean space, or between two hyperplanes in higher dimensions.
- 16 Any of the several portions or tiers in a tax rate plan. India, especially
"Near-synonym: tax bracket"
- 17 A flat, sealed plastic case that encloses a flat collector's item, such as a coin or a trading card.
- 18 A large, luxury pre-1980 General Motors vehicle, particularly a Buick, Oldsmobile, or Cadillac. US, slang
"Video screens have also become a standard part of slab interiors."
- 19 Ellipsis of slab avalanche. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, physical
Verb
- 1 To make into a slab. transitive
- 2 To destroy (a structure) so completely as to leave only the foundation slab visible. informal, transitive
"Multiple homes were slabbed by the monster tornado."
Adjective
- 1 Thick; viscous. archaic
"Make the gruel thick and slab:"
Example
"A heavy stone slab was lowered over the grave."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "slab"?
Common synonyms include: bar, beam, billet, billets, bloc, block.
How do you use "slab" in a sentence?
A heavy stone slab was lowered over the grave.
How do you pronounce "slab"?
Pronounced /slæb/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English sclabbe, slabbe, of uncertain origin; possibly from *slap, related to dialectal slappel (“portion, piece”), along with slape (“slippery”), sleip (“smooth piece of timber”), borrowed through Old Norse sleipr from Proto-Germanic *slaipaz, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)leyb-. See also Norwegian sleip (“slippery”) and Icelandic sleipur.
Etymology 2
Compare Goidelic and Irish slaib (“mud, mire left on a river strand”), and English slop (“puddle”).
Etymology 3
Acronym of Slow, Loud And Bangin'. This term been popularized through the southern rap genre of hip-hop, most notably by rappers such as Paul Wall, Chamillionaire, Lil' Keke, and others.
Etymology 4
From syllable.