dab

Everyday

1. (verb) To touch something lightly and quickly several times, often with a cloth or sponge: «dab your eyes». tree →
2. (verb) To put on a small amount of something with light touches: «dab paint on the paper». tree →
3. (noun) A small amount of something: «a dab of glue». tree →
4. (noun) A light, quick touch. tree →
5. (noun, informal) A dance move where you drop your head into the bent arm while the other arm points out. tree →
6. (UK informal) «a dab hand at» — very good at something. tree →
7. (noun) A small flat sea fish. tree →
8. Dabs (UK slang, old) fingerprints. tree →

In the lessons

In art lessons, children dab paint with sponges to make textures; in first aid, you dab a cut gently with a clean cloth, not rub it. In cooking, «a dab of butter». In the playground, «doing the dab» was a popular dance move. Phrases: «a dab of», «dab at», «dab on», «a dab hand at».

Examples

• Dab the cut gently with a clean tissue. tree →
• She dabbed her eyes with a hanky at the end of the film. tree →
• Dab blue paint on with a sponge to make the sky. tree →
• Put a dab of glue on each corner. tree →
• Add a dab of butter to the hot potatoes. tree →
• The footballer did a dab to celebrate his goal. tree →
• Grandma is a dab hand at knitting. tree →
• We caught a little dab off the pier. tree →
• Very funny the palace must have looked each morning, with the dabs of different colour on the white marble as the princes were climbing up the walls. tree →

Note

Regular verb with a doubled B: dabbed, dabbing. To dab is gentler than to rub or wipe. «Dab hand» is British, informal. «Dab» (fish) is a flatfish. Do not confuse «dab» with «dub» (to give a name, or to add voices to a film).