slab

¹ American  

[slab] / slæb /

noun

1. a broad, flat, somewhat thick piece of stone, wood, or other solid material.

2. a thick slice of anything.

   a slab of bread.

3. a semifinished piece of iron or steel so rolled that its breadth is at least twice its thickness.

4. a rough outside piece cut from a log, as when sawing one into boards.

5. Baseball Slang. rubber.

6. Building Trades. a section of concrete pavement or a concrete floor placed directly on the ground or on a base of gravel.

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verb (used with object)

slabbed, slabbing

1. to make into a slab or slabs.

2. to cover or lay with slabs.

3. to cut the slabs or outside pieces from (a log).

4. to put on in slabs; cover thickly.

slab ² American  

[slab] / slæb /

adjective

Scot. and North England.

1. thick; viscous.

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slab British  

/ slæb /

noun

1. a broad flat thick piece of wood, stone, or other material

2. a thick slice of cake, etc

3. any of the outside parts of a log that are sawn off while the log is being made into planks

4. mountaineering a flat sheet of rock lying at an angle of between 30° and 60° from the horizontal

5. a printer's ink table

6. (modifier) made or constructed of coarse wooden planks

   a slab hut

7. informal an operating or mortuary table

8. informal a package containing 24 cans of beer

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verb

1. to cut or make into a slab or slabs

2. to cover or lay with slabs

3. 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”

Explanation

A slab is a great big thick piece of something. Your backyard patio, for example, might be made of a huge slab of concrete. A sidewalk is often composed of one cement slab after another — these are sometimes called paving slabs. You could refer to large pieces of stone or wood as slabs too. Even your lunch might be a slab, if it's a thick hunk of cheesy pizza or a huge slab of bread slathered with peanut butter. The origins of the word slab are unknown, though we do know it's been around since the thirteenth century.

Example Sentences

Within three years, FAT Brands purchased a dozen new franchise brands, including Marble Slab Creamery and Fazoli’s.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 16, 2026

Besides her abandoned vehicle, there were no signs the 33-year-old was in the Inyo County area, or camping out in Death Valley, Joshua Tree or Slab City.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 25, 2025

When the Citizens Theatre staged the Slab Boys Trilogy, he could be found on stage painting the scenery he had designed.

From BBC • Dec. 1, 2023

The singer-songwriter Bill Withers grew up in Slab Fork, a coal-mining camp in West Virginia.

From New York Times • Mar. 16, 2023

When she finally got to her feet and lifted her swollen eyes, she saw Slab standing looking at her.

From The Red Debt Echoes from Kentucky by MacDonald, Everett

Related Words

• hunk
• ingot
• lump
• piece
• plate
• rod
• slice
• stone
• strip
• wedge