dab

noun10

1. •
   A small amount, a blob of some soft or wet substance.
2. •
   (slang) A small amount of hash oil.
3. •
   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.
4. •
   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. — 1865
5. •
   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.” — 2006
6. •
   A small flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae, especially Limanda limanda; a flounder.
7. •
   (US) A sand dab, a small flatfish of genus Citharichthys.
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. — 1691
9. •
   [in the plural] (UK, old-fashioned) Fingerprint.

   • One had Glash's dabs on it and a half-inch of Macallan at the bottom. — 2022
10. •
    (no longer used) A dabbler.

verb6

1. •
   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. •
   To apply a substance in this way.

   • The nurse will dab some ointment on that gash.
3. •
   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 — 2019
4. •
   (slang) To apply hash oil to a heated surface for the purpose of efficient combustion.
5. •
   To strike by a thrust; to hit with a sudden blow or thrust.

   • Breach hit a line, Zoe Harrison dabbed a kick in behind and Abby Dow chased like fury. — 2025
6. •
   Synonym of daub (to mark a bingo card)

adjective1

1. •
   (no longer used) Bad.

adverb1

1. •
   With a dab, or sudden contact.

noun1

1. •
   Initialism of digital audio broadcasting.