[syn: dab, pat]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Dab \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.
[1913 Webster]
A sore should . . . be wiped . . . only by dabbing
it over with fine lint. --S. Sharp.
[1913 Webster]
2. To strike by a thrust; to hit with a sudden blow or
thrust. "To dab him in the neck." --Sir T. More.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Dab \Dab\, n.
1. A gentle blow with the hand or some soft substance; a
sudden blow or hit; a peck.
[1913 Webster]
A scratch of her claw, a dab of her beak.
--Hawthorne.
[1913 Webster]
2. A small mass of anything soft or moist.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Dab \Dab\ (d[a^]b), n. [Perh. corrupted fr. adept.]
A skillful hand; a dabster; an expert. [Colloq.]
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster] Dab
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Dab \Dab\, n. [Perh. so named from its quickness in diving
beneath the sand. Cf. Dabchick.] (Zool.)
A name given to several species of flounders, esp. to the
European species, Pleuronectes limanda. The American rough
dab is Hippoglossoides platessoides.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
dab
n 1: a light touch or stroke [syn: tap, pat, dab]
2: a small quantity of something moist or liquid; "a dab of
paint"; "a splatter of mud"; "just a splash of whiskey" [syn:
dab, splash, splatter]
v 1: apply (usually a liquid) to a surface; "dab the wall with
paint" [syn: dab, swab, swob]
2: hit lightly; "pat him on the shoulder" [syn: dab, pat]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
192 Moby Thesaurus words for "dab":
ace, adept, apply paint, atom, authority, beak, bedaub, bedizen,
begild, besmear, bit, bloodstain, blot, blotch, blur, brand, brush,
brush on paint, bunt, butter, calcimine, chuck, coat, color,
complexion, cover, dabster, dash, daub, deep-dye, dip, distemper,
dole, dollop, dot, double-dye, drag, dram, dress, dribble, driblet,
drop, dub, dwarf, dye, emblazon, enamel, engild, equalize, even,
eyesore, face, farthing, fast-dye, fillip, flatten, fleck, flick,
flip, flirt, flyspeck, fragment, fresco, gild, glaze, gloss,
gobbet, grade, grain, granule, graze, grease, groat, hair, handful,
harrow, hint, hue, illuminate, imbue, ingrain, iota, japan, jot,
lacquer, lay, lay on, lay on color, level, little, little bit,
lubricate, macula, maculation, macule, mark, master, minim,
minimum, minutiae, mite, modicum, molecule, mote, mow, nutshell,
oil, ounce, paint, parget, particle, pat, patch, pebble, peck,
pick, pigment, pinch, pittance, plane, planish, plaster, point,
poke, prime, professional, proficient, rap, scruple, shade, shadow,
shave, shellac, slap on, slather, slop on paint, smarm, smear,
smear on, smidgen, smidgin, smirch, smitch, smooth, smooth down,
smooth out, smouch, smudge, smut, smutch, snap, spatter, speck,
speckle, splash, splatter, splotch, spoonful, spot, spread on,
spread with, stain, stigma, stipple, suggestion, taint, tamp, tap,
tar, tarnish, thimbleful, tickle, tinct, tincture, tinge, tint,
tiny bit, tip, tittle, tone, touch, trace, trifling amount, trivia,
undercoat, varnish, wash, whisk, whit, whitewash, whiz, wizard
V.E.R.A. -- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (February 2016):
DAB
Digital Audio Broadcasting