dab
Part of speech: verb
noun
adv
Morphological type: simple
Topics: bingo
dance
dancing
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
Etymology: From Middle English dabben (“to strike”), probably of North Germanic origin, related to Old Icelandic dabba (“to tap, slap”), perhaps ultimately imitative. Compare also with Middle Dutch dabben (“to pinch, knead, fumble, dabble”) (Dutch dabben (“(of a horse) to stamp with the forelegs”)), Dutch deppen (“to dab”), possibly German tappen (“to fumble, grope”).
The noun is from Middle English dabbe (“a strike, blow”), from the verb. Related to tap. Compare also drub, dub.
African-American sense of “playful box” perhaps influenced by dap (“fistbump”).
Inflected forms:
form: dabs
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: dabbing
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: dabbed
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: dabbed
pos: verb
tags: past
form: dabs
pos: noun
tags: plural
Senses:
gloss: To press lightly in a repetitive motion with a soft object without rubbing.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: I dabbed my face with a towel.
Dab the tears from your eyes.
gloss: To apply a substance in this way.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: The nurse will dab some ointment on that gash.
gloss: To strike by a thrust; to hit with a sudden blow or thrust.
pos: verb
examples: 1532-1533, Thomas More, The Confutation of Tyndale's Answer
to dabbe him in the necke
Breach hit a line, Zoe Harrison dabbed a kick in behind and Abby Dow chased like fury.
gloss: To apply hash oil to a heated surface for the purpose of efficient combustion.
pos: verb
tags: slang
gloss: To perform the dab dance move; to move both arms, parallel with one's head, to either side of the body.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: Look, my bruddas don't dab, we just vossi bop
gloss: Synonym of daub (to mark a bingo card)
pos: verb
gloss: A soft tap or blow; a blow or peck from a bird's beak; an aimed blow.
pos: noun
examples: I promise you nothing,' said the dolls' dressmaker, dabbing two dabs at him with her needle, as if she put out both his eyes.
“It was the most absurd kiss. I don't believe he'd ever kissed a woman in his life before. I threw my head back, and it was a sort of slidy, pecking dab, just on the end of the chin — here.” Mrs. Hauksbee tapped her masculine little chin with her fan.
Then the minute feet made feeble dabs, or stabs, at the atmosphere; the tiny fists doubled themselves and wandered to and fro as if in search of the enemy.
gloss: A soft, playful box given in greeting or approval.
pos: noun
examples: She gave a few more dabs to his buttocks. “There. By the time you've made love to me those weals will have dried up.”
The men gave each other dabs and another bear hug.
I step closer to Profit and draw in a deep, steadying breath while the brothers exchange dabs. “What's up, fam? I see you finally made it.”
gloss: A small amount, a blob of some soft or wet substance.
pos: noun
examples: a dab of glue
gloss: A small amount, a blob of some soft or wet substance.
pos: noun
tags: slang
gloss: Fingerprint.
pos: noun
tags: UK
dated
in-plural
examples: One had Glash's dabs on it and a half-inch of Macallan at the bottom.
gloss: A hip hop dance move in which the dancer simultaneously drops the head while raising an arm, briefly resting their face in the elbow, as if sneezing into their elbow.
pos: noun
gloss: A dabbler.
pos: noun
tags: obsolete
gloss: With a dab, or sudden contact.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
Related words: dap
dob
tap
Derived words: dab out
dab up
vab
dab pen
poor dab
smack-dab
Translations:
lang: Bulgarian
word: цапвам
roman: capvam
lang: Bulgarian
word: мацвам
roman: macvam
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 敷
roman: fū
lang: Czech
word: jemně nanést
lang: Esperanto
word: dabi
lang: German
word: auftupfen
lang: Portuguese
word: aplicar de leve
lang: Ukrainian
word: примо́чувати
roman: prymóčuvaty
lang: Ukrainian
word: примочи́ти
roman: prymočýty
lang: Bulgarian
word: мазка
roman: mazka
lang: Czech
word: kapka
lang: Czech
word: trošička
lang: Czech
word: drobet
lang: Czech
word: troška
lang: Czech
word: krapet
lang: Finnish
word: nokare
lang: Finnish
word: tippa
lang: German
word: Klacks
lang: German
word: Klecks
lang: Greek
word: μικροποσότητα
roman: mikroposótita
lang: Irish
word: daba
lang: Swedish
word: klick