GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English
last match results
Found 4 definitions
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Dab (dăb), n. [Perh. corrupted fr. adept.] A skillful hand; a dabster; an expert. [Colloq.]
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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.
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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.
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Dab (dăb), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Dabbed (dăbd); 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.
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A sore should . . . be wiped . . . only by dabbing it over with fine lint. S. Sharp.
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2. To strike by a thrust; to hit with a sudden blow or thrust. “To dab him in the neck.” Sir T. More.
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Dab (?), n.
1. A gentle blow with the hand or some soft substance; a sudden blow or hit; a peck.
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A scratch of her claw, a dab of her beak. Hawthorne.
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2. A small mass of anything soft or moist.
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