English

Noun

Tab ‎(plural Tabs)

1. A certain key on a computer keyboard, which inserts a tab.

Etymology 2

Noun

Tab ‎(plural Tabs)

1. Alternative letter-case form of tab ‎(“student at Cambridge”)

English

Noun

tab ‎(plural tabs)

1. A small flap or strip of material attached to something, for holding, manipulation, identification, etc.
   • 1993, Irvine Welsh: Trainspotting, p 333:

     He pulls off his belt, cursing as the studs catch in the tabs of his jeans.

2. (by extension, graphical user interface) A navigational widget, resembling a physical tab, for switching between documents or sets of controls.
3. (informal) A tablet, especially one containing illicit drugs.
   • 2008, Stephen King, Graduation Weekend

     Tonight the kids will go out and party down in a more righteous mode. Alcohol and not a few tabs of X will be ingested. Club music will throb through big speakers.

4. (British Army, military slang) A fast march or run with full kit.

Translations

Derived terms

• keep tabs on
• tabbed

Etymology 2

Apocopation (shortening) of tabulation.

Noun

tab ‎(plural tabs)

1. (informal) A restaurant bill.
2. (slang) Credit account, e.g., in a shop or bar.

   Put this round on my tab, will you, barman.

3. Short for tabulator.
4. (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)

1. Mark with a tab.
2. (computing) To use the Tab key on a computer or typewriter to navigate the screen or page.
   • 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.

3. Short for tabulate.

Translations

Derived terms

• pick up the tab
• tabbed

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)

1. (Britain, regional, Geordie and Mackem) cigarette.

   Giv'is a tab man!

Translations

References

• The New Geordie Dictionary, Frank Graham, 1987, ISBN 0946928118

Etymology 4

Clipping of tablature

Noun

tab ‎(plural tabs)

1. 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 Latin Cantabrigia ‎(“Cambridge”).

Alternative forms

• Tab

Noun

tab ‎(plural tabs)

1. (British slang) A student of Cambridge University.
   • 1995 January 20, Paul Thomas, “Re: >Re: Those 'orrible Tabs”, in rec.sport.rowing, Usenet:

     You should have been there---it was a good race. Just to clarify matters for the hard of understanding, the tabs led for about 1500m before turning to shrapnel, and Oxford eventually won by 3/4 length.

   • 1995 February 7, "Laser Cartridge" [username], “Re: Cambridge News, again.”, in rec.sport.rowing, Usenet:

     Before Rachel gets in with a stab at the Tabs' coxing efforts, may I say that my experience of coxes on the Isis is somewhat similar.

   • 1998 January 17, whitey [username], “Re: Tab bashing (was University Challenge - Its pish)”, in rec.arts.tv.uk.misc, Usenet:

     Plus, there's always been a healthy rivalry between the tabs and us, but I'm sure this has nothing to do with it ;-)

   • 2002 March 27, The Guv'nor [username], “Re: My target this week was...”, in uk.rec.bodybuilding, Usenet:

     I hope the Tabs get beaten! :-) I support Oxford for no real reason but they have a bad habit of losing to Cambridge recently.

   • 2002 March 29, Caroline Smith, “Re: Lifejackets thread returns... [was Re: Boat Race]”, in rec.sport.rowing, Usenet:

     I have nothing against the girl (other than the fact she's a tab!), but it does strike me as a little daft!!

   • 2006 March 30, JY [username], “Veterans Boat Race (that's Oxford, England vs Cambridge, England)”, in rec.sport.rowing, Usenet:

     Anybody know who won? ¶ Or should that be, how much did the Tabs win by? ;-)

Etymology 6

Clipping of tabloid

Noun

tab ‎(plural tabs)

1. (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.‎

Anagrams

• abt
• ATB
• bat
• TBA

Kurdish

Noun

tab ?

1. patience

Lojban

Rafsi

tab

1. rafsi of tabno.

Volapük

Etymology

Borrowing from English table (table → tab; compare French: table, Latin: tabula, Interlingua: tabula, Esperanto: tablo, Ido: tablo).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [tab]

Noun

tab ‎(plural tabs)

1. table (item of furniture)

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

• taib