Dictionary.com

drab

1
[ drab ]
/ dræb /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR drab ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, drab·ber, drab·best.

dull; cheerless; lacking in spirit, brightness, etc.
having the color drab.

noun

dull gray; dull brownish or yellowish gray.
any of several fabrics of this color, especially of thick wool or cotton.

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Origin of drab

1
1535–45; <Middle French drap<Late Latin drappus piece of cloth

OTHER WORDS FROM drab

drably, adverbdrabness, noun

Words nearby drab

DPT vaccine, D.P.W., DQ, dr, draa, drab, drabbet, drabble, dracaena, drachm, drachma

Definition for drab (2 of 2)

drab2
[ drab ]
/ dræb /

noun

a dirty, untidy woman; slattern.
a prostitute.

verb (used without object), drabbed, drab·bing.

to associate with drabs.

Origin of drab

2
1505–15; perhaps akin to Dutch drab dregs, lees, obsolete Dutch drablen to run or tramp about; cf. drabble, draff
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to drab

gray, desolate, run-down, shabby, lackluster, muddy, somber, dreary, dingy, dismal, bleak, dry, brown, flat, boring, same, blah, zero, arid, cheerless

Example sentences from the Web for drab

British Dictionary definitions for drab (1 of 2)

drab1
/ (dræb) /

adjective drabber or drabbest

dull; dingy; shabby
cheerless; drearya drab evening
of the colour drab

noun

a light olive-brown colour
a fabric of a dull grey or brown colour

Derived forms of drab

drably, adverbdrabness, noun

Word Origin for drab

C16: from Old French drap cloth, from Late Latin drappus, perhaps of Celtic origin

British Dictionary definitions for drab (2 of 2)

drab2
/ (dræb) archaic /

noun

a slatternly woman
a whore

verb drabs, drabbing or drabbed

(intr) to consort with prostitutes

Word Origin for drab

C16: of Celtic origin; compare Scottish Gaelic drabag
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

Idioms and Phrases with drab

drab

see dribs and drabs.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.