daub

[ dawb ]
See synonyms for: daubdaubeddauber on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to cover or coat with soft, adhesive matter, as plaster or mud: to daub a canvas with paint; to daub stone walls with mud.

  2. to spread (plaster, mud, etc.) on or over something: to daub plaster on a brick wall.

  1. to smear, soil, or defile.

  2. to apply, as paint or colors, unskillfully.

verb (used without object)
  1. to daub something.

  2. to paint unskillfully.

noun
  1. material, especially of an inferior kind, for daubing walls.

  2. something daubed on.

  1. an act of daubing.

  2. a crude, inartistic painting.

Origin of daub

1
1275–1325; (v.) Middle English dauben<Anglo-French, Old French dauber to whiten, paint <Latin dealbāre, equivalent to de-, prevocalic variant of dē-de- + albāre to whiten, derivative of albus white; (noun) late Middle English, derivative of the v.

Other words from daub

  • dauber, noun
  • daub·ing·ly, adverb
  • dauby, adjective
  • un·daubed, adjective

Words Nearby daub

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use daub in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for daub

daub

/ (dɔːb) /


verb
  1. (tr) to smear or spread (paint, mud, etc), esp carelessly

  2. (tr) to cover or coat (with paint, plaster, etc) carelessly

  1. to paint (a picture) clumsily or badly

noun
  1. an unskilful or crude painting

  2. something daubed on, esp as a wall covering: See also wattle and daub

  1. a smear (of paint, mud, etc)

  2. the act of daubing

Origin of daub

1
C14: from Old French dauber to paint, whitewash, from Latin dealbāre, from albāre to whiten, from albus white

Derived forms of daub

  • dauber, noun
  • dauby, adjective

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