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slab

[ slab ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a broad, flat, somewhat thick piece of stone, wood, or other solid material.
a thick slice of anything:
a slab of bread.
a semifinished piece of iron or steel so rolled that its breadth is at least twice its thickness.
a rough outside piece cut from a log, as when sawing one into boards.
Baseball Slang. rubber ¹( def 14 ).
Building Trades. a section of concrete pavement or a concrete floor placed directly on the ground or on a base of gravel.

verb (used with object)

slabbed, slabbing.

to make into a slab or slabs.
to cover or lay with slabs.
to cut the slabs or outside pieces from (a log).
to put on in slabs; cover thickly.

slab

[ slab ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

Scot. and North England.

thick; viscous.

slab

/ ��æ�� /

noun

a broad flat thick piece of wood, stone, or other material
a thick slice of cake, etc
any of the outside parts of a log that are sawn off while the log is being made into planks
mountaineering a flat sheet of rock lying at an angle of between 30° and 60° from the horizontal
a printer's ink table
modifier made or constructed of coarse wooden planks
a slab hut
informal.
an operating or mortuary table
informal.
a package containing 24 cans of beer

verb

to cut or make into a slab or slabs
to cover or lay with slabs
to saw slabs from (a log)

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Word History and Origins

Origin of slab¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English noun slab(be), sclabbe; further origin unknown

Origin of slab²

First recorded in 1595–1605; apparently from Scandinavian; compare Swedish, Norwegian slabb “m��,” Danish slab “m�ܻ�,” Icelandic slabba “to wade in mud”

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Word History and Origins

Origin of slab¹

C13: of unknown origin

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

A homeowner complained at a recent hearing in Malibu that an excavator has mistakenly began to plow up the concrete slab under her ADU.

From

There was also the matter of the sculpture’s title, “Dark,” which referred to the artist’s claim that the word had been scrawled on the underside of the brute slab.

From

Working under the sweltering sun, in nearly 40C, rescuers use metal drills and cutters to break the concrete slabs into smaller pieces.

From

Structural beams, columns and slabs held up, despite extreme shaking and swaying of some high-rises.

From

Widely shared footage shows two men moving rubble to pry out a young woman trapped between two concrete slabs.

From

Related Words

SLA slabber

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