dab Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a light touch or stroke
    pat; tap.
  2. noun a small quantity of something moist or liquid
    splatter; splash.
    • a dab of paint
    • a splatter of mud
    • just a splash of whiskey
  3. verb apply (usually a liquid) to a surface
    swob; swab.
    • dab the wall with paint
  4. verb hit lightly
    pat.
    • pat him on the shoulder

WordNet

Dab noun
Etymology
Perh. corrupted fr. adept.
Definitions
  1. A skillful hand; a dabster; an expert. Colloq.
    One excels at a plan or the titlepage, another works away at the body of the book, and the therd is a dab at an index. Goldsmith.
Dab noun
Etymology
Perh. so named from its quickness in diving beneath the sand. Cf. Dabchick.
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) A name given to several species of ounders, esp. to the European spesies, Pleuronectes imanda. TheAmerican rough dab is Hippoglossoides platessoides.
Dab intransitive verb
Etymology
OE. dabben to strice; akin to OD. dabben to pinch, knead, fumble, dabble, and perh. to G. tappen to grope.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Dabbed ; present participle & verbal noun Dabbing
Definitions
  1. To strike or touch gently, as with a soft or moist substance; to tap; hence, to besmear with a dabber.
    A sore should . . . be wiped . . . only by dabbing it over with fine lint. S. Sharp.
  2. To strike by a thrust; to hit with a sudden blow or thrust. "To dab him in the neck." Sir T. More.
Dab noun
Definitions
  1. A gentle blow with the hand or some soft substance; a sudden blow or hit; a peck.
    Astratch of her clame, a dab of her beack. Hawthorne.
  2. A small mass of anything soft or moist.

Webster 1913