lib

¹ American  

[lib] / lɪb /

noun

Informal.

1. liberation.

   women's lib; gay lib.

2. a libber.

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lib. ² American  

abbreviation

1. book.

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lib. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. librarian.

2. library.

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Lib. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. Liberal.

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lib. ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. librarian

2. library

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Lib. ² British  

abbreviation

1. Liberal

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lib ³ British  

/ lɪb /

noun

1. informal short for liberation

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Etymology

Origin of lib¹

First recorded in 1965–70; by shortening

Origin of lib.²

From the Latin word liber

Example Sentences

I could ad lib those two scenes with the boys when I wake them up.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 29, 2024

"I've realised that usually I like to ad lib but you can't ad lib a script because your fellow actor doesn't know when you're going to stop talking."

From BBC • Apr. 13, 2023

To illustrate this, he recalls an actor leaning into his fan to deliver a line before spitting in his vicinity as an ab lib.

From Salon • Dec. 14, 2022

There are conflicting stories about when the ad lib started.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 19, 2021

Dad had a good sense of theater, and he’d try to time this apparent ad lib so that it would coincide with the change in traffic.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey