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• cab
  cab

  noun

  a taxicab.
• CAB
  CAB

  Civil Aeronautics Board.

cab

¹ American  

[kab] / kæb /

noun

1. a taxicab.

   Synonyms:

   jitney, hackney, hack

2. any of various horse-drawn vehicles, as a hansom or brougham, especially one for public hire.

   Synonyms:

   jitney, hackney, hack

3. the covered or enclosed part of a locomotive, truck, crane, etc., where the operator sits.

4. the glass-enclosed area of an airport control tower in which the controllers are stationed.

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verb (used without object)

cabbed, cabbing

1. to ride in a taxicab or horse-drawn cab.

   They cabbed to the theater.

cab ² American  

[kab] / kæb /

Or kab

noun

1. an ancient Hebrew measure equal to about two quarts.

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cab ³ American  

[kab] / kæb /

noun

Chiefly British.

1. cabbage.

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CAB ⁴ American  

Or C.A.B.

1. Civil Aeronautics Board.

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cab ¹ British  

/ kæb /

noun

1. 1. a taxi

   2. ( as modifier )

      a cab rank

2. the enclosed compartment of a lorry, locomotive, crane, etc, from which it is driven or operated

3. (formerly) a light horse-drawn vehicle used for public hire

4. informal the first person, etc, to do or take advantage of something

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CAB ² British  

abbreviation

1. (in Britain) Citizens' Advice Bureau

2. (in the US) Civil Aeronautics Board

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cab ³ British  

/ kæb /

noun

1. an ancient Hebrew measure equal to about 2.3 litres (4 pints)

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Etymology

Origin of cab¹

First recorded in 1640–50; short for cabriolet

Origin of cab²

First recorded in 1525–35; from Hebrew qabh

Explanation

A cab is a taxi, a car whose driver you pay to take you where you need to go. It can feel like a competitive sport to hail a cab in New York City. Your cab driver may talk incessantly while she drives you to the airport, or you might ride in a cab that's silent except for the sound of its horn honking at other drivers. You can also call the front part of a truck, where the driver sits, the cab. In the 1820s, the word meant "horse-drawn carriage," short for the French cabriolet, "leap or caper." The Latin root is capreolus, "wild goat."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cab CAB cabbed cabbing

What if launching a satellite was as easy as calling a cab?

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

Consider when Gail and Otto arrive in Hollywood and hop in a cab driven by Richard Kind.

From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026

He echoed the story he’d told the FBI—that he’d learned of the bombing from someone at his apartment—but then said he’d heard about it during a cab ride.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026

Ralph Caruso, 76, currently owns a 2008 Ranger with an extended cab that provides small fold-up seats in the back.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

I jumped out of the hansom cab and darted between the pushcarts, shoes skidding over slime-encrusted pavestones.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

"We found an unexpected chemical complexity, with abundances far higher than predicted by current theoretical models," explains lead author Dr. Ismael García Bernete formerly of Oxford University and now a researcher at CAB.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 12, 2026

Nucera's IPO is part of a wave of European companies aiming to go public before investors shut up shop for the summer, including Hidroelectrica in Romania and CAB Payments in Britain.

From Reuters ● Jul. 5, 2023

"We're being inundated with clients who are really concerned about their bills," said William Jones from CAB.

From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2022

The gangster also has a sense of humour, setting up a luxury limousine business called CAB, Carry Any Body.

From The Guardian ● Feb. 6, 2016

The man said nothing more and Terence went on: "Now, consider this triangle as two triangles, BAC and CAB."

From Fairies and Folk of Ireland by Burleigh, Sydney Richmond

Refusing to give up, Foster had a board mix put together of the first performance and cabbed it to the radio station.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2015

Their daughter told them she "cabbed it" but they say they do not know how she actually traveled cross-country or where she has been staying.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 26, 2013

On Thursday night, I cabbed it to my goddaughter’s house in Fort Greene.

From Slate ● Nov. 12, 2012

It’s like a slower, 1950s version of the real city across that cool bridge we cabbed over last night.

From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle

So we strolled out easily and cabbed it back to the inn.

From Parkhurst Boys And Other Stories of School Life by Reed, Talbot Baines

The day before E3 officially kicks off this year, I’ll be liveblogging the Ubisoft press conference, then cabbing it over to the L.A.

From Forbes ● Jun. 2, 2014

Max is a dreamer; a lonely man whose ideal of running a limo service is still unrealised after 12 years of "temporary" cabbing.

From Time Magazine Archive

"Who's a-goin' to be bullied by any cove because he is a cabbing passinger?" and he gave Blake an almost imperceptible wink.

From Tom Gerrard by Becke, Louis

I won't 'ave it, even if yer are a cabbing passinger.

From Tom Gerrard by Becke, Louis

"We seem destined to consort with the cabbing trade," I remarked; "the last office was over a mews, this place seems to belong to a carriage-builder."

From A Girl Among the Anarchists by Meredith, Isabel

Related Words

• carriage
• taxi
• taxicab