Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Jump To:
  • rabat
    rabat
    noun
    a sleeveless, backless, vestlike garment extending to the waist, worn by a cleric beneath the clerical collar, especially in the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches.
  • Rabat
    Rabat
    noun
    a seaport in and the capital of Morocco, in the NW part.

rabat

1 American  
[rab-ee, ruh-bat] / ˈræb i, rəˈbæt /

noun

Ecclesiastical.
  1. a sleeveless, backless, vestlike garment extending to the waist, worn by a cleric beneath the clerical collar, especially in the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches.


rabat 2 American  
[rab-uht] / ˈræb ət /

noun

  1. a piece of unglazed and imperfectly fired pottery, used for polishing hard surfaces.


Rabat 3 American  
[rah-baht, ruh-] / rɑˈbɑt, rə- /

noun

  1. a seaport in and the capital of Morocco, in the NW part.


Rabat British  
/ rəˈbɑːt /

noun

  1. the capital of Morocco, in the northwest on the Atlantic coast, served by the port of Salé: became a military centre in the 12th century and a Corsair republic in the 17th century. Pop: 673 000 (2003)

"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

Etymology

Origin of rabat1

From Middle French, dating back to 1860–65; see origin at rebate 1

Origin of rabat2

< French, Middle French. See rebate 1

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:

“That’s interesting,” I remarked absently, as I was trying to envision Benech in a long black robe d’avocat and a white rabat.

From The New Yorker May 30, 2015

As he passed through gloomy corridors only the sharp-eyed saw at this seeming-priest's throat the purple rabat of a monsignor.

From Time Magazine Archive

To the witness stand strode a plump, bespectacled man wearing a scarlet rabat under his cleric's black coat.

From Time Magazine Archive

Accompanied by two detectives and a score of newsmen, a plumpish priest in Roman collar and rabat bustled through Manhattan's Grand Central Terminal one afternoon last week.

From Time Magazine Archive

Infantino arrived at Fifa's offices in Rabat, Morocco on Wednesday in now-familiar fashion, chauffeured to the building in a motorcade, sitting in the back of a Mercedes with blacked out windows.

From BBC Aug. 6, 2026

Faced with open revolt, Infantino scrapped the plan and convened a meeting of his senior staff in Rabat, Morocco, on Wednesday.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 6, 2026

On Wednesday night, Grafström was pictured smiling alongside Infantino at a women’s Africa Cup of Nations match in Rabat.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 5, 2026

Sanchez is emphatically not blaming Morocco for what happened, calling Rabat a "good ally".

From BBC Aug. 2, 2026

In Rabat I was immersed in a culture that had only been accessible through words in a book or pictures on a screen.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 12,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training