daub

American  

[dawb] / dɔb /

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.

3. to smear, soil, or defile.

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

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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.

3. an act of daubing.

4. a crude, inartistic painting.

daub British  

/ dɔːb /

verb

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

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

3. to paint (a picture) clumsily or badly

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noun

1. an unskilful or crude painting

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

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

4. the act of daubing

Other Word Forms

• dauber
  noun
• daubingly
  adverb
• dauby
  adjective
• undaubed
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of daub

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.

Explanation

Whenever you smear something on a surface, you are daubing. Abstract Expressionists may have been able to daub a canvas with paint and sell it for millions, but you probably wouldn’t be so lucky. Daub can be used as a verb or as a noun, and is derived from the Old French debaur which comes from the Latin dealbare “to whiten.” It is also used to describe the process of covering a surface with an adhesive substance such as plaster, mud or grease. However, in its noun form, it means a smear of something. When you are ordering "a bagel with a smear," you could impress the guy at the deli by asking for "a daub" instead.

Example Sentences

Each death is a daub of paint on a vast canvas, but for the bereaved, each opens up a gaping chasm of grief.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 17, 2023

Celebrants daub each other with vividly colored powders.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 15, 2022

Scully finds analogues in his home place for larger themes from art history, so in his 2015 “Doric Blue and Blue,” the grid resolves into the pure brushstroke, the squarish daub of Cézanne.

From Washington Post • May 27, 2022

There’s a daub of blue paint in one corner, which he squished into the surface over a background of very, very light colors, and he’s painted the word “photo” above it.

From New York Times • Jan. 27, 2022

“Call this long?” the sailor replied, swinging far out to daub the curving tail of the dolphin.

From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare

Related Words

• dab
• deface
• smear
• smudge
• spatter