Definitions for: Dab


[n] a light touch or stroke
[n] a small quantity of something moist or soft; "a dab of paint"; "a splatter of mud"
[v] hit lightly
[v] apply (usually a liquid) to a surface



Webster (1913) Definition: Dab (d[a^]b), n. [Perh. corrupted fr. adept.]
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 third is a dab at
an index. --Goldsmith.


Dab, n. [Perh. so named from its quickness in diving
beneath the sand. Cf. Dabchick.] (Zo["o]l.)
A name given to several species of flounders, esp. to the
European species, Pleuronectes limanda. The American rough
dab is Hippoglossoides platessoides.


Dab (d[a^]b), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Dabbed (d[a^]bd); p.
pr. & vb. n. Dabbing.] [OE. dabben to strice; akin to OD.
dabben to pinch, knead, fumble, dabble, and perh. to G.
tappen to grope.]
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, n.
1. A gentle blow with the hand or some soft substance; a
sudden blow or hit; a peck.

A scratch of her claw, a dab of her beak.
--Hawthorne.

2. A small mass of anything soft or moist.

Synonyms: pat, pat, splash, splatter, swab, swob, tap

See Also: apply, put on, small indefinite amount, small indefinite quantity, strike, touch, touching

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