drab

[drab]

SEE MORE 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.

Origin of drab

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

Related formsdrab·ly, adverbdrab·ness, noun

drab

[drab]

noun

a dirty, untidy woman; slattern.

a prostitute.

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

to associate with drabs.

Origin of drab

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. 2019

Related Words for drab

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

Examples from the Web for drab

Contemporary Examples of drab

The winter can be so drab—all greys, blacks, and neutral tones.
The Daily Beast’s 2014 Holiday Gift Guide: For the Carrie Bradshaw in Your Life
Allison McNearney
November 29, 2014
But why do the outdoor scenes look as dank and drab as the gas-lit, sepia-toned interiors?
‘Hell on Wheels’ Has Found Its Way
Allen Barra
January 6, 2012
It is long past time for the drab Republican stalwarts to turn to a low-key but heavy-lifting leader.
Give Steele a Reality Show
John Batchelor
November 14, 2010
The country grew tired of the relentless pictures of death in drab on the evening news and an economy out of control.
The Mistake Obama's Repeating
Mark McKinnon
August 6, 2010
Gottlieb waxes this drab compromise to high luster, calling it “taking the best available option and appreciating it.”
Give Up on Mr. Perfect?
Liesl Schillinger
February 1, 2010

Historical Examples of drab

He began to see things truly by the drab light of retrospection.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
But he had her half painted yaller, an' his a kind of a drab, I guess you'd call it.
Meadow Grass
Alice Brown
The world—my world before this night—now seemed to have been so drab.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science September 1930
Various
"Lee—over there—" Aura's whispered words were drab with horror.
The World Beyond
Raymond King Cummings
A drab sack-coat of alpaca hung, unbuttoned, down to his knees.
Lord Jim
Joseph Conrad

British Dictionary definitions for drab

drab

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 Formsdrably, adverbdrabness, noun

Word Origin for drab

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

drab

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

Word Origin and History for drab

1680s, "color of natural, undyed cloth," from Middle French drap (see drape (n.)). Figurative sense is c.1880. Apparently not related to earlier word meaning "a dirty, untidy woman" (1510s), "a prostitute" (1520s), which seems to be connected with Irish drabog, Gaelic drabag "dirty woman," and perhaps with Low German drabbe "dirt." Ultimately perhaps from PIE *dher- "to make muddy." Meaning "small, petty debt" (the sense in dribs and drabs) is 1828, of uncertain connection to the other senses.

Idioms and Phrases with drab

drab

see dribs and drabs.