dab
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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to pat or tap gently, as with something soft or moist.
The child dabbed his eyes with the handkerchief.
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to apply (a substance) by light strokes.
He dabbed the ointment on the rash.
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to strike, especially lightly, as with the hand.
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to consume (cannabis) by inhaling the vapor of heated cannabis extract oil.
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Masonry. to dress (stonework) with a pointed tool.
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Western U.S. to throw (a rope or line) in an effort to lasso or catch something.
Joe dabbed his rope on the steer.
verb (used without object)
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to strike lightly; make a dab; pat.
She dabbed at the stain on her dress.
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to consume cannabis by inhaling the vapor of heated cannabis extract oil.
She dabs for a more intense high.
noun
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a quick or light blow; a pat, as with the hand or something soft.
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a small moist lump or mass.
a dab of butter.
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a small quantity.
a dab of powder.
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a dose of cannabis extract oil.
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a dance move that involves posing with one’s nose in the crook of a bent elbow at chest level while extending the other arm to the side at or above shoulder level, often performed as a celebratory posture in sports or other competitions.
noun
noun
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Also called dab hand. a person skilled in something; an expert.
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an excellent or extraordinary person or thing.
adjective
verb
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to touch lightly and quickly
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(tr) to daub with short tapping strokes
to dab the wall with paint
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(tr) to apply (paint, cream, etc) with short tapping strokes
noun
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a small amount, esp of something soft or moist
a dab of ink
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a small light stroke or tap, as with the hand
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(often plural) a slang word for fingerprint
noun
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a small common European brown flatfish, Limanda limanda, covered with rough toothed scales: family Pleuronectidae: a food fish
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(often plural) any of various other small flatfish, esp flounders Compare sand dab
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Also called: patiki. a sand flounder, Rhombosolea plebia , common around New Zealand's South Island
abbreviation
noun
Usage
What else does dab mean? In slang, dab can be a highly concentrated marijuana extract, a type of hip-hop dance, or touching the ground with your foot while you ride a bicycle.Doing any of these actions is called dabbing, and yes, you could feasibly do all three at once—not that we recommend it.
Etymology
Origin of dab1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English verb dabben “to strike, hit,” of uncertain origin; compare Old Icelandic dabba “to strike, tap,” Norwegian dabbe “to shuffle along, walk slowly,” Middle Dutch dabben “to pinch, knead,” German tappen “to feel along, grope”
Origin of dab2
First recorded in 1570–80; perhaps special use of dab 1
Origin of dab3
First recorded in 1685–95; of uncertain origin
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
For the last few days, smack dab in the middle of his long-awaited breakthrough at USC, Arenas was sick.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2026
"People don't realise, but cod was not the go-to fish when fish and chip shops started about 160 years ago," he said, revealing that it was dab that first made up a fish supper.
From BBC • Feb. 16, 2026
"The chimpanzees dab them on their wounds or chew the plants up, and then apply the chewed material to the open injury."
From BBC • May 14, 2025
We’re smack dab in the middle of 2010 again.
From Salon • Feb. 5, 2025
The farm we lived on was called Cherokee land because it was smack dab in the middle of the Cherokee Nation.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
