slab

¹

[slab]

noun

1. a broad, flat, somewhat thick piece of stone, wood, or other solid material.

2. a thick slice of anything.

   a slab of bread.

3. a semifinished piece of iron or steel so rolled that its breadth is at least twice its thickness.

4. a rough outside piece cut from a log, as when sawing one into boards.

5. Baseball Slang.,  rubber.

6. Building Trades.,  a section of concrete pavement or a concrete floor placed directly on the ground or on a base of gravel.

verb (used with object)

slabbed, slabbing 

1. to make into a slab or slabs.

2. to cover or lay with slabs.

3. to cut the slabs or outside pieces from (a log).

4. to put on in slabs; cover thickly.

slab

²

[slab]

adjective

Scot. and North England.

1. thick; viscous.

slab

/ slæb /

noun

1. a broad flat thick piece of wood, stone, or other material

2. a thick slice of cake, etc

3. any of the outside parts of a log that are sawn off while the log is being made into planks

4. mountaineering a flat sheet of rock lying at an angle of between 30° and 60° from the horizontal

5. a printer's ink table

6. (modifier) made or constructed of coarse wooden planks

   a slab hut

7. informal,  an operating or mortuary table

8. informal,  a package containing 24 cans of beer

verb

1. to cut or make into a slab or slabs

2. to cover or lay with slabs

3. to saw slabs from (a log)

Word History and Origins

Origin of slab¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English noun slab(be), sclabbe; further origin unknown

Origin of slab²

First recorded in 1595–1605; apparently from Scandinavian; compare Swedish, Norwegian slabb “mire,” Danish slab “mud,” Icelandic slabba “to wade in mud”

Word History and Origins

Origin of slab¹

C13: of unknown origin

Example Sentences

By Thursday afternoon, near the end of the 72-hour period deemed critical for identifying survivors, rescue crews were using a crane to move heavier slabs.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

He added that the team had decided to move on to the "next phase" of operations - using heavy equipment to move slabs of concrete.

Read more on BBC

There’s an abundance of small slabs, simple epitaphs like Our Baby.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Footage on local media show the collapsed part of the building completely sunken in, with large slabs of concrete sticking out.

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Steel is still produced at the works, but the process now relies on imported slabs of steel which are milled on site.

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Related Words

• hunk 
• ingot 
• lump 
• piece 
• plate 
• rod 
• slice 
• stone 
• strip 
• wedge