dabster

[ dab-ster ]

noun
  1. Slang. an expert.

  2. Informal. a person who works in a superficial or clumsy manner; dabbler.

Origin of dabster

1
First recorded in 1700–10; dab3 + -ster

Words Nearby dabster

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use dabster in a sentence

  • An' there was Doctor dabster, that could pit a bottle or twa under his belt, an' was neither up nor down.

    Scotch Wit and Humor | W. H. (Walter Henry) Howe
  • He became a dabster at tucking paper napkins into his neat little waistcoat without tearing them.

    The Innocents | Sinclair Lewis
  • Minnie Bellows is the best one in school with her needle and is a dabster at patching.

    Village Life in America 1852-1872 | Caroline Cowles Richards
  • "Mr. dabster's going to take me on top of the building to observe the view," said Daisy, after she had introduced her admirers.

  • dabster wore a silk hat, and—well, Daisy was a woman, and that hat had no chance to get back in its box until Joe had seen it.

British Dictionary definitions for dabster

dabster

/ (ˈdæbstə) /


noun
  1. British a dialect word for dab hand

  2. US informal an incompetent or amateurish worker; bungler

Origin of dabster

1
C18: from dab 1 + -ster

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012