plural dabs
1
: a gentle touch or stroke : pat
A moment of silence, a dab at the eye, a painful swallow before the roar of applause.—
Masha Leon
Masha Leon2
3
: a small amount
The flat shell should be prized off and the oysters eaten raw, with a squeeze of lemon juice and a dab of horseradish if you like.—Nancy Jenkins
Nancy JenkinsA dab of mousse works in seconds "shaping" a style in the time it takes a woman to run her fingers through her hair.—Shari Miller Sims
Shari Miller Sims4
slang
a
: a concentrated extract of cannabis that is prepared by treating cannabis with a solvent (such as butane) and is used by heating the concentrate on a hot surface (as of metal or glass) and inhaling the vapors
Note: Dab occurs in several forms including a resinous sticky oil, a crumbly wax, or a brittle solid.
Marijuana potency is described in terms of the percentage of THC. Most marijuana has about 10 to 15 percent THC. Dab has a THC of 80 to 90 percent.—Chuck Biedka
Chuck BiedkaDab is a product made by using butane (a highly flammable gas used in camping fuel canisters and cigarette lighters) to extract the concentrated cannabis oil from plants …—Jeff Linville
Jeff Linville
b
: a single dose of dab
Nothing like a joint, a dab is a small dose of highly concentrated cannabis heated on a hot surface and then inhaled.—Amy Hansen
Amy HansenThe last thing he would remember in the morning was taking a shot of spiced rum and a dab of marijuana.—Gavin Butler
Gavin Butler5
: a dance move originating in hip-hop that is performed by bending one arm at the elbow, dropping the head so that the face is near the crook of that arm, and usually extending the other arm so that it is parallel with the forearm of the bent arm
He does the dab, a dance move that looks like he's sneezing into his elbow.—Jessica Contrera
Jessica ContreraDuring Hillary Clinton's 2016 Presidential campaign, she learned to do the dab—a dance that Migos made popular …—Sheldon Pearce
Sheldon PearceAs Newton appears to show in his coaching tips, there's more to the dab. The quarterback has Bailey make sure to lean into the move, ducking his head down while sharply raising his front arm and jutting his back arm backward.—Nick O'Malley
Nick O'Malley6
archaic
: a sudden blow or thrust : poke
dabbed; dabbing; dabs
1
: to strike or touch lightly : pat
Her eyes watered occasionally, and she was forced to dab them with a tissue.—John Grisham
John Grisham2
: to apply lightly or irregularly : daub
In the past, restoring a frescoed wall involved little more than covering the cracks and dabbing fresh paint on the surface in an attempt to recapture some of its original color.—George Armstrong
George ArmstrongDab or spray the scent on your … wrist.—Harper's Bazaar
Harper's Bazaar3
slang
: to inhale the vapors of (a heated concentrate of cannabis)
More than half of students who use marijuana reported that they dab marijuana to get high.—Rachel O'Bryan
Rachel O'BryanIn 2015, 28 percent of Colorado high-schoolers who admitted to consuming marijuana within the past month said that they had also dabbed it, according to the CDPHE [Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment].—Thomas Mitchell
Thomas Mitchell1
: to touch or pat something lightly
The Doctor paused to remove his glasses and dab at his eyes with a handkerchief.—T. Coraghessan Boyle
T. Coraghessan Boyle2
slang
: to inhale the vapors of a heated concentrate of cannabis : to take a dab (see dab entry 1 sense 4b)
And if you have ever dabbed …, or even just smoked some weed that was profoundly stronger than your usual stuff, that short list of symptoms probably sounds familiar.—Meagan Angus
Meagan AngusIn Wisconsin, health officials are still investigating increasing reports of people with severe lung disease who say they've recently vaped or "dabbed," which involves inhaling marijuana products.—Michael Nedelman
Michael Nedelman3
: to perform a dab (see dab entry 1 sense 5) or a series of dabs (as while dancing or in celebration)
Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton made the move famous last year after he starting dabbing as his touchdown celebration.—Meg Anderson
Meg AndersonMigos joined Corden for a little Carpool Karaoke on Tuesday, where the late-night host offered his sincere condolences on behalf of uncool dads everywhere for driving their dance move into the ground. Then he immediately dabbed to Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody."—Halle Kiefer
Halle Kiefer
dabber
noun
plural dabbers
dabbing
noun
plural dabbings
The brush work is a furious battle ground—there are … fierce, smudgy dabbings of brute colour …
—Michael Glover
Michael Glover
… an opportunity for cannabis companies to promote their concentrates and dabbing aficionados to enjoy a day on the couch.
—Veronica Irwin
Veronica Irwin
Dabbing, a dance move which some say looks like sneezing, originated from hip-hop …
—Aarushi Ahuja
Aarushi Ahuja
chiefly British
: a skillful person
Dictionary of American Biography
Synonyms
Noun (1)
Noun (3)
Examples of dab in a Sentence
Noun (1)
one more quick dab of the brush and he would be finished with his painting
she added a dab of sesame oil to the dressing before pouring it on the salad
a bear can knock a man down with a simple dab of his paw
Noun (3)
a dab at finding unappreciated collectibles and reselling them at a considerable profit
Recent Examples on the Web
Jenna Ryu, SELF, 1 Nov. 2024
Copper Dull copper pieces can be shined by using a dry cloth and a dab of toothpaste.
—Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott, Southern Living, 5 Oct. 2024
Jen Juneau, People.com, 5 Nov. 2024
Stations invited folks to stop and literally smell the roses — or, rather, the scent of lemon, ginger, geranium, patchouli and other oils (which could be dabbed onto cotton balls and taken along for comfort, if needed, later in the day).
—Teri Sforza, Orange County Register, 5 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dab 
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Noun
In some cases, Dr. Zeichner says that dryness inside your nose could also disrupt your skin barrier and possibly irritate your zit—which is why adding a bit of hydration (with a small dab of petroleum jelly or a gentle, noncomedogenic cream) can help soothe the spot.
—Jenna Ryu, SELF, 1 Nov. 2024
Copper Dull copper pieces can be shined by using a dry cloth and a dab of toothpaste.
—Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott, Southern Living, 5 Oct. 2024
Verb
But the youngsters' older siblings took costume ideas into their own hands, with Luna rocking a creepy black-and-red clown look while Miles dressed up and dabbed as DJ Marshmello.
—Jen Juneau, People.com, 5 Nov. 2024
Stations invited folks to stop and literally smell the roses — or, rather, the scent of lemon, ginger, geranium, patchouli and other oils (which could be dabbed onto cotton balls and taken along for comfort, if needed, later in the day).
—Teri Sforza, Orange County Register, 5 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dab
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Dictionary Entries Near dab
Cite this Entry
“Dab.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dab. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
dab
2 of 3 verb
dabbed; dabbing
1
: to strike or touch lightly
dabs at her eyes with a handkerchief
2
: to apply with quick light strokes : daub
dabber
noun
dab
3 of 3 noun2
: a small amount
just a dab more ice cream
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