daub

[ dawb ]

/ dɔb /

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See synonyms for: daub / daubed / dauber on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to cover or coat with soft, adhesive matter, as plaster or mud: to daub a canvas with paint; to daub stone walls with mud.

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

to smear, soil, or defile.

to apply, as paint or colors, unskillfully.

verb (used without object)

to daub something.

to paint unskillfully.

noun

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

something daubed on.

an act of daubing.

a crude, inartistic painting.

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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.

OTHER WORDS FROM daub

dauber, noundaub·ing·ly, adverbdauby, adjectiveun·daubed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use daub in a sentence

The same cottage, now daubed with graffiti calling Savile “a beast,” has been the focus of police investigations.
Jimmy Savile Sex-Abuse Scandal Taints Entire Era in Britain|Peter Jukes|October 31, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Slogans reading “Death to Christians” and other offensive graffiti were daubed on its walls.
Vatican Official Blasts Extremists in Israel After Monastery Attack|The Telegraph|September 9, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Solution also collects in cuticles and creases, creating a spiderweb effect if not barrier-creamed and/or daubed off.
Spray-Tan Horror Stories|Anneli Rufus|July 7, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Behold, when the wall is fallen: shall it not be said to you: Where is the daubing wherewith you have daubed it?
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various

He daubed more than two hundred portraits; but they were good only when the subject amused him.
The History of Modern Painting, Volume 1 (of 4)|Richard Muther
The blood of whelps was apparently used also, men being first daubed with it and then washed clean.
Myth, Ritual, and Religion, Vol. 1|Andrew Lang
Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it.
The Prophet Ezekiel|Arno C. Gaebelein
Thereupon the Fox slipped over and daubed a little lump of butter on the end of his nose.
Mighty Mikko|Parker Fillmore

British Dictionary definitions for daub

daub

/ (dɔːb) /

verb

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

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

to paint (a picture) clumsily or badly

noun

an unskilful or crude painting

something daubed on, esp as a wall coveringSee also wattle and daub

a smear (of paint, mud, etc)

the act of daubing

Derived forms of daub

dauber, noundauby, adjective

Word Origin for daub

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

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

daub

Origin of daub

OTHER WORDS FROM daub

Words related to daub

How to use daub in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for daub

Derived forms of daub

Word Origin for daub