Definitions and meaning of tab
tab
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /tæb/, [tʰæb̥]
-
- Rhymes: -æb
Etymology 1
First attested 1607, of uncertain origin.
Noun
tab (plural tabs)
- A small flap or strip of material attached to something, for holding, manipulation, identification, opening etc.
- 1993, Irvine Welsh: Trainspotting, p 333:
- He pulls off his belt, cursing as the studs catch in the tabs of his jeans.
- (slang) An ear.
- (by extension, graphical user interface) A navigational widget, resembling a physical tab, for switching between documents or sets of controls.
- (graphical user interface) The page or form associated with such a navigational widget.
- How many tabs are open in your Web browser?
- (British Army, military slang) A fast march or run with full kit.
Verb
tab (third-person singular simple present tabs, present participle tabbing, simple past and past participle tabbed)
- (transitive) To affix with tabs; to label.
Derived terms
Translations
Etymology 2
Apocopation (shortening) of (variously) tabulate, tabulator, or tabulation.
Noun
tab (plural tabs)
- (informal, chiefly Canada, US) A restaurant bill.
- (informal, chiefly Canada, US) Credit account, e.g., in a shop or bar; slate
- (computing) A space character that extends to the next aligned column, traditionally used for tabulation.
Verb
tab (third-person singular simple present tabs, present participle tabbing, simple past and past participle tabbed)
- (computing) To use the Tab key on a computer to advance the cursor or move the input focus, or on a typewriter to advance the carriage.
- 2010, Chris Anderson, Pro Business Applications with Silverlight 4 (page 210)
- You can prevent a control from getting the focus when the user is tabbing between controls by settings its IsTabStop property to False.
Derived terms
Translations
Etymology 3
Likely to have been formed by clipping the Geordie pronunciation of the word tobacco or alternatively from the brand name Ogden's Tabs.
Noun
tab (plural tabs)
- (Britain, regional, Tyneside and Mackem) A cigarette.
- Giv'is a tab man!
Translations
References
- The New Geordie Dictionary, Frank Graham, 1987, →ISBN
Etymology 4
Clipping of tablature
Noun
tab (plural tabs)
- A form of musical notation indicating fingering rather than the pitch of notes, commonly used for stringed instruments.
Translations
Etymology 5
Clipping of Cantab, from Cantabrigian, from Latin Cantabrigia (“Cambridge”).
Alternative forms
Noun
tab (plural tabs)
- (British slang) A student of Cambridge University.
Etymology 6
Clipping of tabloid.
Noun
tab (plural tabs)
- (colloquial) A tabloid newspaper.
- 1999, George H. Douglas, The Golden Age of the Newspaper, p. 229:
- By 1926 the tabloid mania was at full tilt, and the tabs in New York went at each other with hammer and tong.
- 2010, Robert Lusetich, Unplayable: An Inside Account of Tiger's Most Tumultuous Season:
- That is the attitude of the tabs: they cover the world's most important city.
Etymology 7
Clipping of tablet.
Noun
tab (plural tabs)
- (informal) A tablet, especially one containing illicit drugs.
Translations
Etymology 8
Noun
tab (plural tabs)
- (informal, theater) A tableau curtain.
Derived terms
Anagrams
- .bat, ABT, ATB, B.T.A., BAT, BTA, Bat-, TBA, abt, abt., bat
Danish
Etymology 1
Derived from the verb tabe (“to lose”).
Pronunciation
Noun
tab n (singular definite tabet, plural indefinite tab)
- loss
- casualty
Declension
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the main entry.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈtˢæˀb̥], (colloquial) IPA(key): [ˈtˢæwˀ]
Verb
tab
- imperative of tabe
Volapük
Etymology
Borrowed from English table (table → tab; compare French: table, Latin: tabula, Interlingua: tabula, Esperanto: tablo, Ido: tablo).
Pronunciation
Noun
tab (nominative plural tabs)
- table (item of furniture)
Declension
Derived terms
Related terms
Source: wiktionary.org- TAAL, the Afrikaans language.
(source: Collins Scrabble Dictionary)