[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]