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definitions

carb

1
[ kahrb ]
/ kɑrb /
|

noun Informal.

a carburetor.

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Nearby words

  1. caravanner,
  2. caravansary,
  3. caravanserai,
  4. caravel,
  5. caraway,
  6. carb-,
  7. carbachol,
  8. carbamate,
  9. carbamazepine,
  10. carbamic

Origin of carb

1
First recorded in 1950–55; by shortening

carb

2
[ kahrb ]
/ kɑrb /
Slang.

noun

carbohydrate.

verb (used without object)

to eat large quantities of carbohydrates before a major physical exertion in order to store up energy (usually followed by up): Some marathon runners carb up on spaghetti the night before a race.

Origin of carb

2
by shortening of carbohydrate

carb-

variant of carbo- before a vowel: carbazole.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for carb

British Dictionary definitions for carb

carb

/ (kɑːb) /

noun

short for carburettor
short for carbohydrate
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 carb

carb

n.

1942 as an abbreviation of carburetor; c.2000 as short for carbohydrate.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for carb

carb-

pref.

Variant ofcarbo-
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.