daub

[dawb]

verb (used with object)

1. to cover or coat with soft, adhesive matter, as plaster or mud.

   to daub a canvas with paint; to daub stone walls with mud.

2. to spread (plaster, mud, etc.) on or over something.

   to daub plaster on a brick wall.

3. to smear, soil, or defile.

4. to apply, as paint or colors, unskillfully.

verb (used without object)

1. to daub something.

2. to paint unskillfully.

noun

1. material, especially of an inferior kind, for daubing walls.

2. something daubed on.

3. an act of daubing.

4. a crude, inartistic painting.

daub

/ dɔːb /

verb

1. (tr) to smear or spread (paint, mud, etc), esp carelessly

2. (tr) to cover or coat (with paint, plaster, etc) carelessly

3. to paint (a picture) clumsily or badly

noun

1. an unskilful or crude painting

2. something daubed on, esp as a wall covering See also wattle and daub

3. a smear (of paint, mud, etc)

4. the act of daubing

Other Word Forms

• dauber noun
• daubingly adverb
• dauby adjective
• undaubed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of daub¹

1275–1325; (v.) Middle English dauben < Anglo-French, Old French dauber to whiten, paint < Latin dealbāre, equivalent to de-, prevocalic variant of dē- de- + albāre to whiten, derivative of albus white; (noun) late Middle English, derivative of the v.

Word History and Origins

Origin of daub¹

C14: from Old French dauber to paint, whitewash, from Latin dealbāre, from albāre to whiten, from albus white

Example Sentences

The series famously concluded with Jimmy Corkhill, played by the late Dean Sullivan, daubing a letter "d" on to the sign, leaving it as "Brookside Closed" before driving out of the cul-de-sac.

From BBC

The series famously concluded with Jimmy Corkhill, played by the late Dean Sullivan, daubing a "d" on to the sign, leaving it as "Brookside Closed" before driving out of the cul-de-sac.

From BBC

St George's crosses also appeared painted on roundabouts in Birmingham and Bromsgrove, with a video of one man daubing the road in full view of a police officer.

From BBC

In May, it claimed responsibility for the daubing of a US military plane in Ireland.

From BBC

On the front steps, insults daubed in spray paint were directed at both Mayor Karen Bass and President Trump.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• dab 
• deface 
• smear 
• smudge 
• spatter