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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

tab.

A small flap or strip of material attached to or inserted into something, for holding, manipulation, identification, opening etc.

3 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/tæb/[tʰæb̥]
  1. A small flap or strip of material attached to or inserted into something, for holding, manipulation, identification, opening etc.

    insert tab A into slot B
  2. An ear.

    slang
  3. A navigational widget, resembling a physical tab, for switching between documents or sets of controls.

    broadly
  4. The page or form (for example, on a web browser or file manager) associated with such a navigational widget.

    broadly
    How many tabs are open on your browser right now?
  5. A fast march or run with full kit.

    British-Army · slang
Where this word comes from

First attested 1607, of uncertain origin.

verb/tæb/[tʰæb̥]
  1. To affix with tabs; to label.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

First attested 1607, of uncertain origin.

noun/tæb/[tʰæb̥]
  1. A restaurant bill.

    Canada · US · informal
    to pick up the tab
  2. Credit account, e.g., in a shop or bar; slate.

    Canada · US · informal
    to start a tab
    Put this round on my tab, please, barman.
  3. The cost or bill for anything.

    broadly
  4. A space character that extends to the next aligned column, traditionally used for tabulation.

Where this word comes from

Apocopation (shortening) of (variously) tabulate, tabulator, or tabulation.

verb/tæb/[tʰæb̥]
  1. 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.

Where this word comes from

Apocopation (shortening) of (variously) tabulate, tabulator, or tabulation.

noun/tæb/[tʰæb̥]
  1. A cigarette.

    Geordie · Mackem
    Lend us a tab!
Where this word comes from

Likely to have been formed by clipping the Geordie pronunciation of the word tobacco or alternatively from the brand name Ogden's Tabs.

noun/tæb/[tʰæb̥]
  1. A form of musical notation indicating fingering rather than the pitch of notes, commonly used for stringed instruments.

Where this word comes from

Clipping of tablature.

noun/tæb/[tʰæb̥]
  1. A student of Cambridge University.

Where this word comes from

Clipping of Cantab, from Cantabrigian, from Latin Cantabrigia (“Cambridge”).

noun/tæb/[tʰæb̥]
  1. A tabloid newspaper.

    colloquial
Where this word comes from

Clipping of tabloid.

noun/tæb/[tʰæb̥]
  1. A tablet, especially one containing illicit drugs.

    informal
Where this word comes from

Clipping of tablet.

noun/tæb/[tʰæb̥]
  1. A tableau curtain.

    informal
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.