tab
noun
a small flap, strap, loop, or similar appendage, as on a garment, used for pulling, hanging, or decoration.
tab
1 American
[tab]
/ tæb /
noun
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a small flap, strap, loop, or similar appendage, as on a garment, used for pulling, hanging, or decoration.
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a tag or label.
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a small projection from a card, paper, or folder, used as an aid in filing.
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Informal.
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a bill, as for a meal in a restaurant; check.
That dinner went way over my budget, so I was relieved when she offered to pick up the tab.
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a list of accruing costs, as drinks ordered in a bar: .
Go ahead and order another round of beers—we’ve got a running tab
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a small piece attached or intended to be attached, as to an automobile license plate.
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a small flap or tongue of material used to seal or close the opening of a container.
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Also called tab key. Also called tabulator. a key on a typewriter that moves the carriage, typing element, etc., a predetermined number of spaces, used for typing text in columns, for fixed indentations, etc.
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Also called tab key. a key on a computer keyboard that moves the cursor a predetermined number of spaces, used for keying text in columns or form fields, for fixed indentations, etc.
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Digital Technology.
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(in a web browser window or in a spreadsheet or other application) a page displayed by clicking on or selecting a user interface element that resembles a paper tab.
The third tab in the spreadsheet list expenses.
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the display of this user interface element.
I have too many tabs open in my browser right now.
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Theater.
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a small, often narrow, drop curtain, for masking part of the stage.
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Aeronautics. a small airfoil hinged to the rear portion of a control surface, as to an elevator, aileron, or rudder.
verb (used with object)
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tabs,
present (3rd person singular)
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tabbed,
past participle, past
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tabbing
present participle
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to furnish or ornament with a tab or tabs.
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to name or designate.
verb (used without object)
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tabs,
present (3rd person singular)
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tabbed,
past participle, past
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tabbing
present participle
idioms
tab.
3
American
abbreviation
-
tables.
-
(in prescriptions) tablet.
tab
1
British
/ tæb /
noun
-
a small flap of material, esp one on a garment for decoration or for fastening to a button
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any similar flap, such as a piece of paper attached to a file for identification
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a small auxiliary aerofoil on the trailing edge of a rudder, aileron, or elevator, etc, to assist in the control of the aircraft in flight See also trim tab
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military the insignia on the collar of a staff officer
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a bill, esp one for a meal or drinks
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dialect a cigarette
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informal to keep a watchful eye on
verb
TAB
2
British
abbreviation
-
typhoid-paratyphoid A and B (vaccine)
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Totalizator Agency Board
tab
3
British
/ tæb /
tab.
4
British
abbreviation
tab
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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tabsimple
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tabssimple
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have tabbedperfect
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has tabbedperfect
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am tabbingprogressive
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are tabbingprogressive
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is tabbingprogressive
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have been tabbingperfect progressive
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has been tabbingperfect progressive
Past
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tabbedsimple
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had tabbedperfect
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was tabbingprogressive
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were tabbingprogressive
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had been tabbingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tab1
First recorded in 1600–10; most senses of unknown origin; tab 1 in def. 7 short for tabulator; tab 1 in def. 10 short for tableau; tab 1 in defs. 4, 15 short for table
Origin of tab2
First recorded in 1920–25; by shortening
Origin of tab.3
From the Latin word tabella
Explanation
A tab is an attached flap or piece of material. You use a metal tab to open a can of soda, and you might use plastic tabs to separate sections in your binder. Some tabs help you open packaging ("Grasp the plastic tab and pull to open"), and others give you information about or help you identify something. The noun tab also means "an additional document or page" on a computer screen, as well as "a space" on a keyboard or typewriter. In North America, it's another name for a bill as well: "Put it on my tab, please!"
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:
The other day, I found myself looking at a blinking cursor in a blank address bar in a new tab of my web browser.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
If things go wrong, tech companies will be paying an expensive tab for infrastructure that they can’t profitably use.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
On the MarketWatch quote page, there are many tabs with additional information, including the Analyst Estimates tab, which provides a deeper breakdown of estimates and targets.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
The tab for four decades of cheap money is finally being passed around the table.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Her parents dine here religiously on Friday nights, and she informs me that our dinner must be put on their tab.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
“Everybody picks up this social tab. That feels good,” said Post.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2022
“Make sure when you get Gatorades, you put it on the golfer’s tab. They won’t mind,” Z laughed one day, his braids shaking underneath his bucket cap.
From Golf Digest ● Oct. 3, 2018
"The tab. You need to put the nachos on a card," she explained calmly.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2018
“Well, that was fast! I’ll just add it to the tab. When I can move again, I mean.”
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
For a good cause, order at Coffee TAB, a Belltown nonprofit that trains low-income students in barista skills.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 24, 2023
In a statement, TAB Bank defended its practices, saying it is a better option than payday loans and helps “consumers who have no or limited credit.”
From Washington Post ● Sep. 30, 2022
TAB, he added, "would love to see a continued focus on the meat-and-potato issues that have made Texas the best place in the world to do business."
From Salon ● Jul. 6, 2022
The FAA convened a TAB soon after the second Boeing 737 MAX crash in March 2019 to assist in its review of the grounded airplane.
From Reuters ● Feb. 28, 2022
TAB posted that picture of P. Total triator.
From "Goodbye Stranger" by Rebecca Stead
Keep tabs on quantum developments so you can identify new risks and take action as needed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Within the restrictions of his suspension, Chelsea kept tabs on him physically and mentally, while several team-mates have stayed in touch and offered encouragement.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
On the MarketWatch quote page, there are many tabs with additional information, including the Analyst Estimates tab, which provides a deeper breakdown of estimates and targets.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
The following year the FBI opened a file on Smith, keeping tabs on her travel, her friends and colleagues, and her publications.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
He was always keeping tabs on who Stradlater was dating, even though he hated Stradlater's guts.
From "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger
Ever since Wembanyama was a teenager in France, he was tabbed as a prospect who would tower over the future of basketball.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2025
Merrick Garland, a distinguished appellate court judge and Barack Obama's ill-fated 2016 pick for the Supreme Court, was tabbed for attorney general.
From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2025
Matt Gaetz,a former Florida congressman, was tabbed for attorney general.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 20, 2024
When the Chargers met on the field for the final time Thursday before breaking for the start of summer, Herbert was the player Harbaugh tabbed to address the group.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2024
A quick search in the database pulled up the exact same book, and I tabbed through to the first page, making sure the words were enlarged as much as possible.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
“Kind of like collecting Pokémon, except instead of collecting Pokémon, I’m tabbing birds in my guide book.”
From Salon ● Jul. 29, 2025
Dickert took the helm as interim coach and put confidence in de Laura, later tabbing him the “catalyst” to WSU’s strong finish on offense.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 18, 2022
Metta Sandiford-Artest — then known as Metta World Peace — was on that Lakers team and remembers tabbing Ham as a future coach.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2022
Virginia Tech hired Brent Pry as its new football coach, the school announced Tuesday, tabbing the Penn State defensive coordinator to fill a vacancy that came open two weeks ago.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 30, 2021
I dumped my valises, horned into that bunch, picked her off the truck and carried her away on my shoulder, while the professor yelled at me, and the other ginks were tabbing up their additions.
From The Million-Dollar Suitcase by Alice MacGowan
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.
