I. ˈtab, -aa(ə)b noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: origin unknown
1.
a. : a short flap, loop, or other device projecting from an object to facilitate its identification or grasping: as
(1) : the piece of leather to which a saddle girth is secured
(2) dialect England : the tip of a shoelace
(3) : a small hand grip
swung the musette around front and pulled open the tabs on it — R.O.Bowen
specifically : pull strap
(4) : a small lettered guide affixed to the bottom of the notch of a thumb index or projecting from the edge of a page
(5) : a projection from a card used as an aid in filing
(6) : a margin on a stamp or sheet of stamps bearing an ornamentation or a descriptive or advertising inscription
b.
(1) : the collar insignia of a British army officer
(2) Britain : staff officer
c.
(1) dialect chiefly England : a shoe latchet
(2) : a small strap or flap fastening (as for a coat) stitched to a garment at one end and buttoned at the loose end
(3) : a projecting metal strip or a key fitting into a slot (as for securing a roller to its mandrel)
d. : a small insert, addition, or remnant
license plate tab
shoe … reinforced at the toe and heel by metal tabs — William Duber
e. dialect England : dab
boys, as they followed the path above, could toss tabs of turf down her chimney — A.T.Quiller-Couch
f. : appendage , extension : as
(1) : a small pendant or projecting part of a garment
tabs … are favorite trimmings, used at necklines — Women's Wear Daily
especially : one of a series of pendants forming a decorative border or edge
(2) or tab·leau ˈtaˌblō, ̷ ̷ˈ ̷ ̷
[ tableau from tableau (I) ]
: a narrow framed or unframed drop used especially for masking offstage spaces
(3) : tag 3d(1)
g. : a piece of leather with two finger holes and a slot for the arrow shaft worn by an archer to protect the drawing fingers
h. : a small auxiliary airfoil hinged to a control surface (as to the trailing edge of an aileron, rudder, or elevator) to help stabilize an airplane in flight — called also trim tab
2.
[partly short for table (I) ; partly from sense 1]
a. : an itemized account or close surveillance : tally , watch
keep close tabs on both American and British publications — Bennett Cerf
difficult to keep a tab on the nefarious activities of these people — R.G.Menzies
a color styling service … keeps tabs on mass-market trends in color — Dun's Review
b. : a creditor's statement : bill , check
few merchants could afford to throw out all their fixtures and foot the tab for a … new floor setup — E.B.Weiss
big spending, which includes … picking up the tab , as well as big tipping — John Bainbridge
c. : an incurred expense or market value : cost , price
45 cents a pound, the tab at which the industry … hope butter will move quickly onto dinner tables — Wall Street Journal
the tab for superhighways may run as high as 3 million dollars a mile — Changing Times
3.
[by shortening]
a. : tabloid
farm tabs that sometimes go out with larger dailies — Lois M. Miller
tab show, specializing in brief revues — R.L.Taylor
b. : tabulator
for typing tables, first set tabs to space the columns evenly
run data cards through a tab
c. : tablet
two boxes of heat tabs — Paul Gallico
II. transitive verb
( tabbed ; tabbed ; tabbing ; tabs )
1. : to furnish or ornament with tabs
when these cards are removed from the active list, they are tabbed according to group — American Business
cuffed neckline is looped and tabbed at the side — Fashion Digest
2. : to single out : name , designate , identify
the $14 million tabbed … for aid to school districts — Fortnight
listeners have her tabbed as a chanteuse of the whispering school — Los Angeles (Calif.) Times
someone once tabbed me the critic's critic — Ralph de Toledano
3.
[by shortening]
: tabulate
tabbing up ballots — Time
tab all lines except the first … and double-space — H.H.Smith & A.C.Lloyd
III. abbreviation
1.
[New Latin tabella ]
lozenge
2. table
3. tabulate; tabulated