cab1
- a taxicab.
- any of various horse-drawn vehicles, as a hansom or brougham, especially one for public hire.
- the covered or enclosed part of a locomotive, truck, crane, etc., where the operator sits.
- the glass-enclosed area of an airport control tower in which the controllers are stationed.
- to ride in a taxicab or horse-drawn cab: They cabbed to the theater.
Origin of cab1
Synonyms
See more synonyms for cab on Thesaurus.comcab2
or kab
- an ancient Hebrew measure equal to about two quarts.
Origin of cab2
cab3
CAB
or C.A.B.
Examples from the Web for cab
Contemporary Examples
In a bizarre twist to proceedings, Miss Manners sought to have her £30 cab fare from her Kensington flat to court refunded.
How A British Aristocrat Used Big Game Hunter’s Sperm To Get Pregnant Without His PermissionTom Sykes
December 2, 2014
At a quarter past midnight, all her friends gathered at me and then they went off to party and I went home in a cab.
Stephen Merchant Talks ‘Hello Ladies’ movie, the Nicole Kidman Cameo, and Legacy of ‘The Office’Marlow Stern
November 22, 2014
(A more upscale version, the cabriolet, or “cab,” was later imported from France).
Parisian cab licenses can also be bought and sold for a small fortune.
I took a cab to a stadium outside the city, bought a ticket, and sat in the concrete bleachers.
Historical Examples
He took a cab and was driven to the local branch of his favourite temple of chance.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
He called a cab for the old man, and saw him started safely off up-town.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
Her eyes gleamed in the shadow of the cab straight ahead, immovable.
The Secret AgentJoseph Conrad
The cab rattled, jingled, jolted; in fact, the last was quite extraordinary.
The Secret AgentJoseph Conrad
He glanced again at the cab and groaned: "O Lord, I just dassent!"
The Black BagLouis Joseph Vance
cab1
- a taxi
- (as modifier)a cab rank
- the enclosed compartment of a lorry, locomotive, crane, etc, from which it is driven or operated
- (formerly) a light horse-drawn vehicle used for public hire
- first cab off the rank Australian informal the first person, etc, to do or take advantage of something
Word Origin
cab2
kab
- an ancient Hebrew measure equal to about 2.3 litres (4 pints)
Word Origin
CAB
- (in Britain) Citizens' Advice Bureau
- (in the US) Civil Aeronautics Board
Word Origin and History for cab
n.
1826, "light, horse-drawn carriage," shortening of cabriolet (1763), from French cabriolet (18c.), diminutive of cabrioler "leap, caper" (16c./17c.), from Italian capriolare "jump in the air," from capriola, properly "the leap of a kid," from Latin capreolus "wild goat, roebuck," from PIE *kap-ro- "he-goat, buck" (cf. Old Irish gabor, Welsh gafr, Old English hæfr, Old Norse hafr "he-goat"). The carriages had springy suspensions.
Extended to hansoms and other types of carriages, then extended to similar-looking parts of locomotives (1851). Applied especially to public horse carriages, then to automobiles-for-hire (1899) when these began to replace them.