blab

[blab]Informal.

See more synonyms for blab on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), blabbed, blab·bing.

to reveal indiscreetly and thoughtlessly: They blabbed my confidences to everyone.

verb (used without object), blabbed, blab·bing.

to talk or chatter indiscreetly or thoughtlessly: Don't confide in him, because he blabs. She blabbed so much I couldn't hear the concert.

noun

idle, indiscreet chattering.
a person who blabs; blabbermouth.

Also blab·ber

[blab-er] /ˈblæb ər/.

Origin of blab

1325–75; Middle English blabbe (noun), perhaps back formation from blaberen to blabber; cognate with Old Norse blabbra, German plappern

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for blab

Contemporary Examples

For someone in the blab business, she could be remarkably discreet.
New Clue in Chasen Murder
A. L. Bardach
December 6, 2010

Historical Examples

"It is so easy not to blab when one has nothing to tell," said Jekyl, smiling.
The Daltons, Volume I (of II)
Charles James Lever
You an' I ain't got noth'n' to worry about, Ingua—unless you blab.'
Mary Louise in the Country
L. Frank Baum (AKA Edith Van Dyne)
I mean that Dick Prescott and his gang had to go and blab on us!
The Grammar School Boys of Gridley
H. Irving Hancock
Should he blab it out, and so be poor again, and lose the crock?
The Complete Prose Works of Martin Farquhar Tupper
Martin Farquhar Tupper
Betsy, if I talk out square you 'll not blab it all 'round the village, will yer?
Wappin' Wharf
Charles S. Brooks

British Dictionary definitions for blab

blab

verb blabs, blabbing or blabbed

to divulge (secrets) indiscreetly
(intr) to chatter thoughtlessly; prattle

noun

a less common word for blabber (def. 1), blabber (def. 2)

Derived Formsblabbing, noun, adjective

Word Origin

C14: of Germanic origin; compare Old High German blabbizōn, Icelandic blabbra

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

Word Origin and History for blab

v.

mid-15c., apparently from Middle English noun blabbe "one who does not control his tongue" (late 13c.), probably echoic. Related: Blabbed; blabbing. The exact relationship between the blabs and blabber is difficult to determine. The noun was "[e]xceedingly common in 16th and 17th c.; unusual in literature since c 1750" [OED].

blab

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Examples from the Web for blab

Contemporary Examples

For someone in the blab business, she could be remarkably discreet.

Historical Examples

"It is so easy not to blab when one has nothing to tell," said Jekyl, smiling.

You an' I ain't got noth'n' to worry about, Ingua—unless you blab.'

I mean that Dick Prescott and his gang had to go and blab on us!

Should he blab it out, and so be poor again, and lose the crock?

Betsy, if I talk out square you 'll not blab it all 'round the village, will yer?

blab

Word Origin

Word Origin and History for blab

v.

Origin of blab