Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

rabbet

American  
[rab-it] / ˈræb ɪt /

noun

  1. a deep notch formed in or near one edge of a board, framing timber, etc., so that something else can be fitted into it or so that a door or the like can be closed against it.

  2. a broad groove let into the surface of a board or the like; dado.

verb (used with object)

rabbeted, rabbeting

  1. to cut a rabbet in (a board or the like).

  2. to join (boards or the like) by means of a rabbet or rabbets.

verb (used without object)

rabbeted, rabbeting

  1. to join by a rabbet (usually followed by on orover ).

rabbet British  
/ ˈræbɪt /

noun

  1. a recess, groove, or step, usually of rectangular section, cut into a surface or along the edge of a piece of timber to receive a mating piece

  2. a joint made between two pieces of timber using a rabbet

"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

verb

  1. to cut or form a rabbet in (timber)

  2. to join (pieces of timber) using a rabbet

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of rabbet

1350–1400; Middle English rabet < Old French rabat, derivative of rabattre to beat back, beat down; see rebate 1

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.

“As far as we know there was absolutely no relationship” between them, said Rabbet.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 9, 2023

Rabbet these pieces sufficient to allow the art glass to set in on the back sides and be fastened—about 1/4 in. will do—and put them together with glue and brads.

From Mission Furniture How to Make It, Part 2 by Windsor, H. H. (Henry Haven)

Rabbet, rab′et, n. a groove cut in the edge of a plank so that another may fit into it.—v.t. to groove a plank thus.—ns.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) by Various

The first is the Fox-Squirrel, so call'd, because of his large Size, which is the Bigness of a Rabbet of two or three Months old.

From A New Voyage to Carolina, containing the exact description and natural history of that country; together with the present state thereof; and a journal of a thousand miles, travel'd thro' several nations of Indians; giving a particular account of their customs, manners, etc. by Lawson, John

For a long time Rabbet had been torturing him, and in despair, or perhaps for lack of a god that completely satisfied his ideas, he had at last decided for this one.

From Salammbo by Flaubert, Gustave

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.