gab
verb (used without object)
to talk or chat idly; chatter.
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gab
1 American
[gab]
/ gæb /
verb (used without object)
-
gabs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
gabbed,
past participle, past
-
gabbing
present participle
noun
gab
2
American
[gab]
/ gæb /
noun
Machinery.
gab
3
American
[gab]
/ gæb /
noun
Scot. Slang.
gab
1
British
/ ɡæb /
verb
noun
-
idle or trivial talk
-
ability to speak effortlessly, glibly, or persuasively
gab
2
British
/ ɡæb /
noun
-
a hook or open notch in a rod or lever that drops over the spindle of a valve to form a temporary connection for operating the valve
-
a pointed tool used in masonry
GAB
3
British
abbreviation
gab
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
gabsimple
-
gabssimple
-
have gabbedperfect
-
has gabbedperfect
-
am gabbingprogressive
-
are gabbingprogressive
-
is gabbingprogressive
-
have been gabbingperfect progressive
-
has been gabbingperfect progressive
Past
-
gabbedsimple
-
had gabbedperfect
-
was gabbingprogressive
-
were gabbingprogressive
-
had been gabbingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of gab1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English noun gab, gabbe “deceit, falsehood, idle talk”; probably from Old Norse gabba “to mock”; cf. gabble
Origin of gab2
First recorded in 1790–95; origin uncertain; possibly from Dutch dialect gabbe “notch, gash”
Explanation
When you gab, you chatter on and on. You might like to gab on the phone with your friend after school. To talk and talk, especially about gossipy or trivial things, is to gab. Your dad might gab over the fence with the neighbor, and you may sit in the front of the bus so you can gab with the friendly driver. You can also describe the chatter itself as gab. The oldest meaning of gab may come from thirteenth century Scottish dialect, "to reproach," although it may in fact be rooted in the Old French gobe, "mouthful or lump."
Vocabulary lists containing gab
Talk the Talk: Synonyms for "Wordy"
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The Egypt Game
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Anyone who has ever watched an interview with Mr. McConaughey, or delved into his enchanting memoir “Greenlights,” is aware that listening to him gab is a treat.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
"Laurent had the good-natured gab, Simone the uncompromising discourse," French newspaper Le Monde said of the Gbagbos' political partnership.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2025
“America’s Talking gab grabbing cable viewers,” USA Today, July 6, 1995.
From Slate ● Sep. 25, 2024
In his five days on the stand, Watson brought his trademark suaveness and gift of gab — and why not?
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2024
Gawaine said: “For the last time, Agravaine, will ye hold yer gab? I winna have airt nor pairt in it.”
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
Bell did not work on the investigation and publicly criticized the former GAB last week, saying he left it because he thought it was mismanaged and unfairly enforcing the law.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 22, 2018
Fitzgerald says he wants Schimel to take a broader look at “all activities” of GAB staffed named in the earlier report.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 21, 2017
The GAB was dissolved and replaced with separate Ethics and Elections commissions.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 12, 2017
The GAB was established in 2007, with overwhelming bipartisan support following a major corruption scandal.
From Salon ● Jan. 9, 2016
To GAB, v. n. to prate; to mock.
From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume XXIV. by Alexander Leighton
Paul puts ‘bust’ in filibuster He doesn’t make it on the list of longest Senate gabs — but reading from Twitter instead of phone books might be a first.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 8, 2013
And in an era in which Lady Gaga gabs on about subverting gender and sexuality norms, these fellows strut the strut.
From New York Times ● Aug. 1, 2012
Mark, a towering, perennially upbeat presence, relentlessly gabs away; Jay, short and bearded, lingers alongside.
From New York Times ● Jun. 11, 2010
Scarlet gabs on a phone attached to the wall, Ruby reads a book, and Carmen admires herself in the sunlight that cascades through a window.
From Slate ● May 26, 2009
Mrs. Fischer gabs about our quest to save the coyote until Ms. Andrews cuts her off.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
He ran across an interview transcript between Peter Hujar, a photographer Sachs had long admired, and writer Linda Rosenkrantz, in which the two gabbed in her Manhattan apartment in 1974.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2025
After her first date with now-fiancé Chris about a year ago, she gabbed with Marmo like any girlfriend would.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 2, 2022
The two strangers gabbed on and on as FitzGerald turned off the highway and looped through side streets.
From Salon ● Jan. 9, 2022
Some people gabbed, some groused; others stood silently, forming a line that snaked around the block, waiting for Century 21, the Lower Manhattan bargain hunters’ mecca, to open for business.
From New York Times ● Sep. 10, 2020
"I don't have one, remember? You gabbed every other bit of me quick enough."
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
As far as we can tell, Trump didn’t talk to Kamala Harris, in the row ahead of him, beside the Bidens, though she did shoot a look at Obama and Trump while they were gabbing.
From Slate ● Jan. 9, 2025
And the last scene of “Maisel” jumps ahead several decades and we see the two women as seniors still gabbing, but now via phone as they are no longer living in the same city.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2023
Residents go to the post office on Fetters Mill Road near the old train tracks to snag their letters and packages while gabbing with friends and relatives they run into.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 21, 2022
He has been a nightlife regular at a private club in NoHo, gabbing merrily with Ronn Torossian, a publicist with past ties to former President Donald J. Trump.
From New York Times ● Oct. 23, 2021
Little kids, old people, the men standing, rapping, gabbing on the corner.
From "Ghost Boys" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
