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View synonyms for

drab

1

[ drab ]

adjective

drabber, drabbest.
  1. dull; cheerless; lacking in spirit, brightness, etc.
  2. having the color drab.


noun

  1. dull gray; dull brownish or yellowish gray.
  2. any of several fabrics of this color, especially of thick wool or cotton.

drab

2

[ drab ]

noun

Archaic.
  1. a dirty, untidy woman; slattern.
  2. a prostitute.

verb (used without object)

drabbed, drabbing.
  1. to associate with drabs.

drab

1

/ æ /

adjective

  1. dull; dingy; shabby
  2. cheerless; dreary

    a drab evening

  3. of the colour drab
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a light olive-brown colour
  2. a fabric of a dull grey or brown colour
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

drab

2

/ æ /

noun

  1. a slatternly woman
  2. a whore
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. intr to consort with prostitutes
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈԱ, noun
  • ˈ, adverb
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Other Word Forms

  • l adverb
  • n noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of drab1

1535–45; < Middle French drap < Late Latin drappus piece of cloth

Origin of drab2

First recorded in 1505–15; perhaps akin to Dutch drab “dregs, lees,” obsolete Dutch drablen “to run or tramp about”; drabble, draff
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Word History and Origins

Origin of drab1

C16: from Old French drap cloth, from Late Latin drappus, perhaps of Celtic origin

Origin of drab2

C16: of Celtic origin; compare Scottish Gaelic drabag
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Idioms and Phrases

see dribs and drabs .
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Every spring, I get the urge to buy something new: a sundress, a pretty blouse or something hopeful after a long, drab winter.

From

That leaves many species — the “drab” ones, as the study puts it, and the ones with smaller ranges — understudied, if studied at all.

From

It was fashion week in New York, and the clothes hitting the runways were drab — plainly tailored and neutral, a far cry from Talley’s preference for eye-catching spectacle.

From

To pay the ridiculous salaries to players, all the commercial partners have to big up every game, and many are drab.

From

We are covered up in flowers and wild blooms, and apparently, shifting from drab to gorgeous was all I needed to put a skip back in my step.

From

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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