What does "tab" mean?
A small flap or strip of material attached to or inserted into something, for holding, manipulation, identification, opening etc.
Tab
/tæb/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A small flap or strip of material attached to or inserted into something, for holding, manipulation, identification, opening etc.
- Grammar: tab is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: tab key, a reckoning of, account, account of.
- Useful contrasts: closed tab, enter key, no tab.
- Usage evidence: My father picked up the tab for dinner, which came to $150.
How to use "tab"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "tab" 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 "tab" 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 "tab" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "tab" 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 "tab" is acting as 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 "tab key" 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 "tab", 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 small flap or strip of material attached to or inserted into something, for holding, manipulation, identification, opening etc.
"insert tab A into slot B"
- 2 A restaurant bill. Canada, US, informal
"to pick up the tab"
- 3 A cigarette. Geordie, Mackem
"Lend us a tab!"
- 4 A form of musical notation indicating fingering rather than the pitch of notes, commonly used for stringed instruments.
- 5 A student of Cambridge University.
"You should have been there---it was a good race. Just to clarify matters for the hard of understanding, the tabs led for about 1500m before turning to shrapnel, and Oxford eventually won by 3/4 length."
Show 17 more definitions
- 6 A tabloid newspaper. colloquial
"By 1926 the tabloid mania was at full tilt, and the tabs in New York went at each other with hammer and tong."
- 7 A tablet, especially one containing illicit drugs. informal
"Tonight the kids will go out and party down in a more righteous mode. Alcohol and not a few tabs of X will be ingested. Club music will throb through big speakers."
- 8 A tableau curtain. informal
- 9 A key on a computer keyboard that typically inserts a tab or moves the input focus.
- 10 Alternative letter-case form of tab (“student at Cambridge”). alt-of
- 11 a dose of medicine in the form of a small pellet wordnet
- 12 An ear. slang
- 13 Credit account, e.g., in a shop or bar; slate. Canada, US, informal
"to start a tab"
- 14 a short strip of material attached to or projecting from something in order to facilitate opening or identifying or handling it wordnet
- 15 A navigational widget, resembling a physical tab, for switching between documents or sets of controls. broadly
- 16 The cost or bill for anything. broadly
"Moreover, at a tab of $9 million, the system's price is about $1 million less than a conventional heating-cooling plant […]"
- 17 the key on a typewriter or a word processor that causes a tabulation wordnet
- 18 The page or form associated with such a navigational widget.
"How many tabs are open in your Web browser?"
- 19 A space character that extends to the next aligned column, traditionally used for tabulation.
"No no no no I don't, it's not hate, hate is a strong word, truth be told I do have a slight preference for tabs but that's only because I'm anal and because I prefer precision."
- 20 sensationalist journalism wordnet
- 21 A fast march or run with full kit. British-Army, slang
- 22 the bill in a restaurant wordnet
Verb
- 1 To affix with tabs; to label. transitive
- 2 To use the Tab key on a computer to advance the cursor or move the input focus, or on a typewriter to advance the carriage.
"You can prevent a control from getting the focus when the user is tabbing between controls by settings its IsTabStop property to False."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"My father picked up the tab for dinner, which came to $150."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "tab"?
Common synonyms include: tab key, a reckoning of, account, account of, act drop, afterpart.
How do you use "tab" in a sentence?
My father picked up the tab for dinner, which came to $150.
How do you pronounce "tab"?
Pronounced /tæb/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
First attested 1607, of uncertain origin.
Etymology 2
Apocopation (shortening) of (variously) tabulate, tabulator, or tabulation.
Etymology 3
Likely to have been formed by clipping the Geordie pronunciation of the word tobacco or alternatively from the brand name Ogden's Tabs.
Etymology 4
Clipping of tablature.
Etymology 5
Clipping of Cantab, from Cantabrigian, from Latin Cantabrigia (“Cambridge”).
Etymology 6
Clipping of tabloid.
Etymology 7
Clipping of tablet.