slab
1 Americannoun
-
a broad, flat, somewhat thick piece of stone, wood, or other solid material.
-
a thick slice of anything.
a slab of bread.
-
a semifinished piece of iron or steel so rolled that its breadth is at least twice its thickness.
-
a rough outside piece cut from a log, as when sawing one into boards.
-
Baseball Slang. rubber.
-
Building Trades. a section of concrete pavement or a concrete floor placed directly on the ground or on a base of gravel.
verb (used with object)
-
to make into a slab or slabs.
-
to cover or lay with slabs.
-
to cut the slabs or outside pieces from (a log).
-
to put on in slabs; cover thickly.
adjective
noun
-
a broad flat thick piece of wood, stone, or other material
-
a thick slice of cake, etc
-
any of the outside parts of a log that are sawn off while the log is being made into planks
-
mountaineering a flat sheet of rock lying at an angle of between 30° and 60° from the horizontal
-
a printer's ink table
-
(modifier) made or constructed of coarse wooden planks
a slab hut
-
informal an operating or mortuary table
-
informal a package containing 24 cans of beer
verb
-
to cut or make into a slab or slabs
-
to cover or lay with slabs
-
to saw slabs from (a log)
Etymology
Origin of slab1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English noun slab(be), sclabbe; further origin unknown
Origin of slab2
First recorded in 1595–1605; apparently from Scandinavian; compare Swedish, Norwegian slabb “mire,” Danish slab “mud,” Icelandic slabba “to wade in mud”
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.
Standing in the clearing was something that looked like a table but, instead of a slab on top, it had only the edges, like old fancy table legs supporting a big empty picture frame.
From Literature
I placed one on my rock slab and used the grinding stone to hit it.
From Literature
It’s just her name and the year she graduated etched into a brass rectangle glued to a dark slab of wood.
From Literature
A slab of wood is always the size of the slab of wood.
From Literature
The kiddie “pool” is basically a large puddle on a slab of concrete.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
