Ab
noun
Av.
Ab
1 American
[ahb, ahv]
/ ɑb, ɑv /
noun
AB
3
American
abbreviation
-
Nautical. able seaman.
-
U.S. Air Force. Airman Basic.
-
Alberta, Canada (approved for postal use).
-
antiballistic; antiballistic missile.
AB
4
American
Symbol, Physiology.
ab-
5
American
ab.
6
American
abbreviation
-
about.
-
Baseball. (times) at bat.
A.B.
7
American
abbreviation
A.B.
8
American
AB
1
British
abbreviation
-
Also: a.b.. able-bodied seaman
-
(in the US) Bachelor of Arts
-
(esp in postal addresses) Alberta (Canada)
symbol
Ab
2
British
/ æb /
noun
ab-
3
British
prefix
ab-
4
British
prefix
Etymology
Origin of ab-5
< Latin ab (preposition and prefix) from, away, cognate with Greek apó, Sanskrit ápa, German ab, English of 1, off
Origin of A.B.7
< New Latin, Medieval Latin Artium Baccalaureus
Explanation
An ab is a stomach, or abdominal, muscle. Doing sit ups and crunches will help you tone your abs. Ab is shorthand for abdominal, which comes from the Latin abdomen, "belly," and it's a common name for what's formally known as the rectus abdominus muscle. Your abs run up and down the front of your torso, on either side of your belly button. In extremely fit or muscly people with little body fat, you can actually see how the abs are separated into several sections, the so-called "six-pack."
Vocabulary lists containing ab
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"A second visit to Eps Ind Ab with JWST: new photometry confirms ammonia and suggests thick clouds in the exoplanet atmosphere of the closest super-Jupiter" in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 22, 2026
Some flirted only briefly with Ab Ex ideas before moving on.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 28, 2026
So it felt like Ab to Abby was a very cute jump.
From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2025
Mr Abdallah, who lost his brother, said Ab Shouk camp’s Al Saalam School was now doubling as a shelter for those who had recently lost their homes.
From BBC ● May 23, 2024
If I find my uncle, Ab Sheehan, he might give me some of his Friday night fish and chips, but they tell me in the cafe he came and went already.
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
Co-author David Mataix-Cols states that he has received author's fees from UpToDate Inc and that he is a partner in Scandinavian E-Health AB, which is unrelated to the publication.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
Maria Eriksdotter has participated as a consultant in one-off meetings with BioArctic AB, Roche, Eli Lilly, Biogen/Eisai and Novo Nordisk, and has given lectures at symposia sponsored by Roche and BioArctic/Eisai.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
AB 1847 extends relief for a total of 24 months for L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
The extension bill, AB 1847, strengthens the deferral language so borrowers have greater certainty about their repayment options when they exit the program, Harabedian’s office noted.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
Any AB and NAB naturals out there who want to share their regimen?
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
It is altogether too easy to allow one's sense of the ab- surdity of a good many of its episodes to cloud one's perception of the beauty underlying them.
From Time Magazine Archive
But the Chaldeans, the great idolaters of fire, ab- horred the burning of their carcases, as a pollution of that deity.
From Religio Medici, Hydriotaphia, and the Letter to a Friend by Sir Thomas Browne
To find whether a wanted word in ab- occurs in this glossary, it was necessary to look through more than two columns containing ninety-five entries.
From The evolution of English lexicography by James Augustus Henry Murray
When first I doffed my olive drab, I thought, delightedly though mutely, "Henceforth I shall have pleasure ab- Solutely."
From Something Else Again by Franklin P. (Franklin Pierce) Adams
God had been graciously preparing me during many years for the reception of this final revelation of the ab- 107:6 solute divine Principle of scientific mental healing.
From Science and Health, with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy
In the third edition it was reprinted at the end of the Stans puer ad Mensam by Wynkin de Worde ab. 1501-1510.
From Caxton's Book of Curtesye by Frederick James Furnivall
The family quickly grew following the births of A.B.,
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 13, 2025
"Our focus is on crop improvement, pest and disease surveillance, soil management, capacity building, and technology transfer related to cardamom," says A.B.
From BBC ● Nov. 20, 2025
“We’re in our toddler, young juvenile phase, of trying to navigate things with the industry,” said Felicia A.B.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025
The great Andre Braugher was originally cast as the character A.B.
From Salon ● Apr. 2, 2025
He planned to complete work for an A.B. degree and then enter law school.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
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