dab

verb

1. (transitive)To press lightly in a repetitive motion with a soft object without rubbing.

   “I dabbed my face with a towel.”

   “Dab the tears from your eyes.”

2. (transitive)To apply a substance in this way.

   “The nurse will dab some ointment on that gash.”

3. To strike by a thrust; to hit with a sudden blow or thrust.

   “1532-1533, Thomas More, The Confutation of Tyndale's Answer to dabbe him in the necke”

   “Breach hit a line, Zoe Harrison dabbed a kick in behind and Abby Dow chased like fury.”

4. (slang)To apply hash oil to a heated surface for the purpose of efficient combustion.
5. (intransitive)To perform the dab dance move; to move both arms, parallel with one's head, to either side of the body.

   “Look, my bruddas don't dab, we just vossi bop”

6. Synonym of daub (to mark a bingo card)

noun

1. A soft tap or blow; a blow or peck from a bird's beak; an aimed blow.

   “I promise you nothing,' said the dolls' dressmaker, dabbing two dabs at him with her needle, as if she put out both his eyes.”

   ““It was the most absurd kiss. I don't believe he'd ever kissed a woman in his life before. I threw my head back, and it was a sort of slidy, pecking dab, just on the end of the chin — here.” Mrs. Hauksbee tapped her masculine little chin with her fan.”

   “Then the minute feet made feeble dabs, or stabs, at the atmosphere; the tiny fists doubled themselves and wandered to and fro as if in search of the enemy.”

2. A soft, playful box given in greeting or approval.

   “She gave a few more dabs to his buttocks. “There. By the time you've made love to me those weals will have dried up.””

   “The men gave each other dabs and another bear hug.”

   “I step closer to Profit and draw in a deep, steadying breath while the brothers exchange dabs. “What's up, fam? I see you finally made it.””

3. A small amount, a blob of some soft or wet substance.

   “a dab of glue”

4. (slang)A small amount, a blob of some soft or wet substance.
5. (British, dated, in-plural)Fingerprint.

   “One had Glash's dabs on it and a half-inch of Macallan at the bottom.”

6. A hip hop dance move in which the dancer simultaneously drops the head while raising an arm, briefly resting their face in the elbow, as if sneezing into their elbow.
7. (obsolete)A dabbler.
8. One who is skilful or proficient; an expert; an adept.

   “for little Urchin as he is, he‘s ſuch a Dab at his Bow and Arrows‘ that ne‘re a Finsbury Archer of ‘em all can pretend to come near him.”

   “Dab, c. expert exquiſite in Roguery a Rumdab, c. a very Dextrous fellow at fileing , thieving, Cheating, Sharping, sc. Heii a Dab at it, He is well vers'd in it.”

   “One excels at a plan or the title page, another works away at the body of the book, and the third is a dab at an index.”

   “I hope he will like my answer; it is as good a one as I can write though nothing to his; Indeed I had always heard what a dab he was at a Love-letter.”

   ““[…]’S’pose they’re ridin’ Vidley’s ponies?” “De Vitré’s sure to be. He’s a dab on a horse.[…]””

9. A small flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae, especially Limanda limanda; a flounder.
10. (US)A sand dab, a small flatfish of genus Citharichthys.
11. (abbreviation, alt-of, initialism)Initialism of digital audio broadcasting.

adv

1. (not-comparable)With a dab, or sudden contact.

adj

1. (obsolete)Bad.

   “Business topics are discussed in a most peculiar style. One man takes the pipe from his mouth and says, "Bill made a doogheno hit this morning." "Jem," says another, to a man just entering, "you'll stand a top o' reeb?" "On," answers Jem, "I've had a trosseno tol, and have been doing dab."”

   “One afternoon, arriving at his stall later than usual, I said, almost unknowingly, 'A doogheno or a dabheno?' Jo, who had often chaffed me for my awkward mimicking of coster language, didn't even look up from peeling his apple. 'Dab,' he said, with a little shake of his head.”

name

1. (Hong-Kong, abbreviation, alt-of, initialism)Initialism of Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (a pro-Beijing political party in the HKSAR).