blab

American  

[blab] / blæb /

Also blabber

verb (used with object)

blabbed, blabbing

1. to reveal indiscreetly and thoughtlessly.

   They blabbed my confidences to everyone.

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verb (used without object)

blabbed, blabbing

1. 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

1. idle, indiscreet chattering.

2. a person who blabs; blabbermouth.

blab British  

/ blæb /

verb

1. to divulge (secrets) indiscreetly

2. (intr) to chatter thoughtlessly; prattle

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noun

1. a less common word for blabber blabber

Other Word Forms

• blabbing noun

Etymology

Origin of blab

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

Example Sentences

I was probably about 2 or 3 then, just trying to blab, because the early nurses I had when I was a kid had said that I had delayed speech or something called “selective mutism.”

From Los Angeles Times

Cat crunched her lemonade ice happily and said mental thank-yous—to Harriet for not blabbing, to Chicken for not being any quicker, to the driver of the truck.

From Literature

Think of the worst person you know: the kind who blabs people’s secrets, mocks their diction, dismisses their pain while making festivals of her own.

From New York Times

Within minutes, she’d blabbed to everyone, making it sound like a big joke—with Jess and the twins as the punch line.

From Literature

Babbling and blabbing all along with only about 1/3 of his content having any meaning in reality.

From Salon

Related Words

• divulge
• tell on