drab

¹ American  

[drab] / dræb /

adjective

drabber, drabbest

1. dull; cheerless; lacking in spirit, brightness, etc.

2. having the color drab.

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noun

1. dull gray; dull brownish or yellowish gray.

2. any of several fabrics of this color, especially of thick wool or cotton.

drab ² American  

[drab] / dræb /

noun

Archaic.

1. a dirty, untidy woman; slattern.

2. a prostitute.

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verb (used without object)

drabbed, drabbing

1. to associate with drabs.

drab ¹ British  

/ dræb /

adjective

1. dull; dingy; shabby

2. cheerless; dreary

   a drab evening

3. of the colour drab

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noun

1. a light olive-brown colour

2. a fabric of a dull grey or brown colour

drab ² British  

/ dræb /

noun

1. a slatternly woman

2. a whore

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verb

1. (intr) to consort with prostitutes

drab Idioms  

1. see dribs and drabs.

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Other Word Forms

• drably adverb
• drabness noun

Etymology

Origin of drab¹

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

Origin of drab²

First recorded in 1505–15; perhaps akin to Dutch drab “dregs, lees,” obsolete Dutch drablen “to run or tramp about”; drabble, draff

Example Sentences

One manufacturer’s idea of khaki or olive drab, for example, might not match another’s—a serious problem when thousands of yards of uniform fabric had to be dyed the same shade.

From The Wall Street Journal

The primary colors are drab grays and ugly browns.

From Los Angeles Times

The drab Chevron at the edge of Chinatown always makes the news.

From Los Angeles Times

He recalled a drab maze of run-down buildings inside a vast wooded compound whose tedious daily rhythms moved to the whims of wardens that rewarded the cooperative and punished the defiant.

From The Wall Street Journal

I walked slowly up a cinder path between drab gray barracks.

From Literature

Related Words

• bleak
• desolate
• dingy
• dismal
• dreary
• gray
• lackluster
• muddy
• run down
• shabby
• somber