drab

¹

[ drab ]

adjective

, drab·ber, drab·best.

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

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

[ drab ]

noun

, Archaic.

1. a dirty, untidy woman; slattern.
2. a prostitute.

verb (used without object)

, drabbed, drab·bing.

1. to associate with drabs.

drab

¹

/ dræb /

adjective

1. dull; dingy; shabby
2. cheerless; dreary

   a drab evening

3. of the colour drab

noun

1. a light olive-brown colour
2. a fabric of a dull grey or brown colour

drab

²

/ dræb /

noun

1. a slatternly woman
2. a whore

verb

1. intr to consort with prostitutes

Derived Forms

• ˈdrabness, noun
• ˈdrably, adverb

Other Words From

• drably adverb
• drabness noun

Word History and Origins

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of drab¹

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

Origin of drab²

C16: of Celtic origin; compare Scottish Gaelic drabag

Idioms and Phrases

see dribs and drabs .

Example Sentences

It’s pea soup, after all, typically a metaphor for drab and boring.

From Washington Post

As the pandemic has proved, we are adaptable creatures, though I still feel the loss of a landscape rendered drab but predictable by brown earth and gray forest.

From Washington Post

Errors are expected—even the world’s best can confuse extremely similar-looking immature gulls or drab flycatchers.

From Outside Online

Hops once were considered a drab ingredient, tossed in mainly to preserve the beer, thanks to antibacterial properties of the resins found in hop flowers, which are also called cones.

From Outside Online

For Arise, these individual arbitration awards were dribs and drabs compared with the potentially large payouts that could come from a class-action lawsuit.

From ProPublica

The winter can be so drab—all greys, blacks, and neutral tones.

From The Daily Beast

Meathead nodded down the hallway where two olive drab duffel bags and a rucksack sat next to the front door.

From The Daily Beast

Our bookstores would surely be more drab and austere in their absence or their relegation to the annals of world literature.

From The Daily Beast

Any chance we can bring him back for the rest of this comparatively drab campaign?

From The Daily Beast

But why do the outdoor scenes look as dank and drab as the gas-lit, sepia-toned interiors?

From The Daily Beast

Here began indeed, in the drab surroundings of the workshop, in the silent mystery of the laboratory, the magic of the new age.

From Project Gutenberg

At his side was the girl, a slender body in drab, tossing her hat gayly about at the end of its long string.

From Project Gutenberg

He was now beyond all ordinary sensations of fear, only a drab feeling as of death—the death of the soul—stirred in his heart.

From Project Gutenberg

Wery proud I was in a gold-laced hat, a drab coat and a red weskit, to sit by his side, when he drove.

From Project Gutenberg

June Dun—a feather from Dottrel's back, hackled on a body of blue Rabbit's fur and drab silk, dun hackle for legs.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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