I. dab 1 /dæb/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Origin: From the sound of hitting something ]
1 . a small amount of something that you put onto a surface
dab of
a dab of butter
2 . a light touch with your hand, a cloth etc:
She wiped her tears away with a dab of her handkerchief.
3 . be a dab hand at/with something British English informal to be very good at a particular activity
4 . a small flat fish
5 . dabs [plural] British English old-fashioned your ↑ fingerprint s
II. dab 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle dabbed , present participle dabbing )
1 . [intransitive and transitive] to touch something lightly several times, usually with something such as a cloth:
She dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief.
dab at
He dabbed at his bleeding lip.
2 . [transitive] to put a substance onto something with quick light movements of your hand
dab something on/onto etc something
She dabbed some cream on her face.