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• 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.

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rabat ² American  

[rab-uht] / ˈræb ət /

noun

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

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Rabat ³ American  

[rah-baht, ruh-] / rɑˈbɑt, rə- /

noun

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

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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)

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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

See Examples For:

rabat Rabat

“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

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

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

From Time Magazine Archive

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

In late January in Rabat, Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch spoke of a "natural, lasting" relationship with Senegal where he said Morocco has invested more than $540 million.

From Barron's ● Apr. 3, 2026

"I believe this was a sporting injustice, Morocco was certainly wronged and the facts were clear," one man told the BBC in Rabat.

From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2026

The commotion began when the referee awarded a penalty to Morocco in the 88th minute with the contest tied at 0-0 in Rabat.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026

There was chaos when Senegal arrived in Rabat for the final, and pictures of the players walking through huge crowds - with seemingly minimal security - went viral.

From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2026

Apparently freedom fighters thought so as well, for Rabat was the crossroads of virtually every liberation movement on the continent.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela