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dabbing

[dab-ing]
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noun
  1. the consumption of cannabis by inhaling the vapor of heated cannabis extract oil: Experts agree that dabbing is more addictive than smoking.
  2. Also called dab·bin' [dab-in] /ˈdæb ɪn/. the act of performing 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 as a celebratory posture in sports or other competitions.
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Origin of dabbing

2000–05; dab1 (in the sense “to consume cannabis by inhaling heated extract oil”for def 1; in the sense “a dance step” for def 2) + -ing1

dab1

[dab]
verb (used with object), dabbed, dab·bing.
  1. to pat or tap gently, as with something soft or moist: The child dabbed his eyes with the handkerchief.
  2. to apply (a substance) by light strokes: He dabbed the ointment on the rash.
  3. to strike, especially lightly, as with the hand.
  4. to consume (cannabis) by inhaling the vapor of heated cannabis extract oil.
  5. Masonry. to dress (stonework) with a pointed tool.
  6. Western U.S. to throw (a rope or line) in an effort to lasso or catch something: Joe dabbed his rope on the steer.
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verb (used without object), dabbed, dab·bing.
  1. to strike lightly; make a dab; pat: She dabbed at the stain on her dress.
  2. to consume cannabis by inhaling the vapor of heated cannabis extract oil. She dabs for a more intense high.
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noun
  1. a quick or light blow; a pat, as with the hand or something soft.
  2. a small moist lump or mass: a dab of butter.
  3. a small quantity: a dab of powder.
  4. a dose of cannabis extract oil.
  5. 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.
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Origin of dab1

1250–1300; Middle English dabben; compare Norwegian dabbe “to shuffle along, walk slowly,” German tappen “to feel along, grope”

Synonyms

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10. pat, bit; dollop, smidgen.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

daub, smear, swab, wipe, smudge, stipple, pat, plaster, bedaub, tap, besmear, peck

Examples from the Web for dabbing

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • What did she want to keep on dabbing at her mouth with her handkerchief for!

    The Foolish Lovers

    St. John G. Ervine

  • If you loved him, Fanny—' Fanny had stopped the dabbing hand, and was looking at her fixedly.

    Little Dorrit

    Charles Dickens

  • "Oh, just another fellow who lived in Rome," he replied, dabbing away.

    The Golden Age

    Kenneth Grahame

  • Her eyes were wet and she was dabbing at them with a lace handkerchief.

    The Rise of Roscoe Paine

    Joseph C. Lincoln

  • "You didn't call me names," dabbing away with a small handkerchief.

British Dictionary definitions for dabbing

DAB

abbreviation for
  1. digital audio broadcasting
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dab1

verb dabs, dabbing or dabbed
  1. to touch lightly and quickly
  2. (tr) to daub with short tapping strokesto dab the wall with paint
  3. (tr) to apply (paint, cream, etc) with short tapping strokes
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noun
  1. a small amount, esp of something soft or moista dab of ink
  2. a small light stroke or tap, as with the hand
  3. (often plural) mainly British a slang word for fingerprint
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Word Origin

C14: of imitative origin

dab2

noun
  1. a small common European brown flatfish, Limanda limanda, covered with rough toothed scales: family Pleuronectidae: a food fish
  2. (often plural) any of various other small flatfish, esp floundersCompare sand dab
  3. Also called: patiki a sand flounder, Rhombosolea plebia, common around New Zealand's South Island
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Word Origin

C15: from Anglo-French dabbe, of uncertain origin

dab3

noun
  1. British informal See dab hand
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Word Origin

C17: perhaps from dab 1 (vb)
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 dabbing

dab

v.

c.1300, dabben "to strike," of unknown origin, perhaps imitative. Modern sense of "strike with a slight, quick pressure" developed by mid-16c., influenced by French dauber (see daub). Related: Dabbed; dabbing. As a noun from c.1300, "heavy blow with a weapon." Dab hand is British slang, 1828, from dab "expert" (1690s), said to be school slang, of unknown origin, perhaps from dab in the "strike lightly" sense.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper