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tab

1
[ tab ]
/ tæb /
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noun
verb (used with object), tabbed, tab·bing.
to furnish or ornament with a tab or tabs.
to name or designate.
verb (used without object), tabbed, tab·bing.
to operate the tab function on a typewriter or computer.
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Idioms about tab

    keep tabs / tab on, Informal. to keep an account of; check on; observe: The police kept tabs on the suspect's activities.

Origin of tab

1
First recorded in 1600–10; most senses of unknown origin;in def. 7 short for tabulator; in def. 10 short for tableau; in defs. 4, 15 short for table

Other definitions for tab (2 of 3)

tab2
[ tab ]
/ tæb /

noun
Slang. a tablet, as of a drug or medication.
Informal. tabloid (def. 1).

Origin of tab

2
First recorded in 1920–25; by shortening

Other definitions for tab (3 of 3)

tab.

abbreviation
tables.
(in prescriptions) tablet.

Origin of tab.

From the Latin word tabella
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tab in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tab (1 of 4)

tab1
/ (tæb) /

noun
verb tabs, tabbing or tabbed
(tr) to supply (files, clothing, etc) with a tab or tabs

Word Origin for tab

C17: of unknown origin

British Dictionary definitions for tab (2 of 4)

tab2
/ (tæb) /

noun
short for tabulator, tablet
slang a portion of a drug, esp LSD or ecstasy

British Dictionary definitions for tab (3 of 4)

TAB

abbreviation for
typhoid-paratyphoid A and B (vaccine)
Australian and NZ Totalizator Agency Board

British Dictionary definitions for tab (4 of 4)

tab.

abbreviation for
table (list or chart)
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

Other Idioms and Phrases with tab

tab

see keep tabs on.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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