drab

1
[ drab ]
See synonyms for: drabdrabsdrabness on Thesaurus.com

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.

Origin of drab

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

Other words from drab

  • drably, adverb
  • drabness, noun

Other definitions for drab (2 of 2)

drab2
[ drab ]

nounArchaic.
  1. a dirty, untidy woman; slattern.

  2. a prostitute.

verb (used without object),drabbed, drab·bing.
  1. to associate with drabs.

Origin of drab

2
First recorded in 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. 2023

How to use drab in a sentence

  • The loneliness and drabness of working away from people are fatal to his best effort.

    How to Analyze People on Sight | Elsie Lincoln Benedict and Ralph Paine Benedict
  • Only we, slaves of respectability and of an inordinate appetite for order, suffered such monotony and drabness to rule.

    Painted Windows | Elia W. Peattie
  • Little ridges of tiny blue flames, to speed up the drying of the ink, made blobs of color in the drabness.

    Joan of the Journal | Helen Diehl Olds
  • There were, it is true, a few redeeming features gilding the prevailing drabness of the scene.

    The Gypsy's Parson | George Hall

British Dictionary definitions for drab (1 of 2)

drab1

/ (dræb) /


adjectivedrabber or drabbest
  1. dull; dingy; shabby

  2. cheerless; dreary: a drab evening

  1. of the colour drab

noun
  1. a light olive-brown colour

  2. a fabric of a dull grey or brown colour

Origin of drab

1
C16: from Old French drap cloth, from Late Latin drappus, perhaps of Celtic origin

Derived forms of drab

  • drably, adverb
  • drabness, noun

British Dictionary definitions for drab (2 of 2)

drab2

/ (dræb) archaic /


noun
  1. a slatternly woman

  2. a whore

verbdrabs, drabbing or drabbed
  1. (intr) to consort with prostitutes

Origin of drab

2
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

Other 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.