drab
1 Americanadjective
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dull; cheerless; lacking in spirit, brightness, etc.
-
having the color drab.
noun
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dull gray; dull brownish or yellowish gray.
-
any of several fabrics of this color, especially of thick wool or cotton.
noun
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a dirty, untidy woman; slattern.
-
a prostitute.
verb (used without object)
adjective
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dull; dingy; shabby
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cheerless; dreary
a drab evening
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of the colour drab
noun
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a light olive-brown colour
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a fabric of a dull grey or brown colour
noun
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a slatternly woman
-
a whore
verb
Other Word Forms
- drably adverb
- drabness noun
Etymology
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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He suffers from rheumatism and would like nothing more than to “heal” on a beach in Cuba—still the ideal of paradise for those who grew up in drab old communist Europe.
It is, at times, horrifying and anxiety-inducing; at others, it’s frustratingly drab.
From Salon
Nitibhon, a Thai supermodel, plays her tycoon as comically drab, keeping her gaunt cheeks slack to emphasize her character’s hollowness.
From Los Angeles Times
Information is arriving "in dribs and drabs from motorbike couriers circulating the region", making it difficult to establish an accurate toll, a humanitarian source told AFP.
From Barron's
It was a drab, ordinary lie to want them.
From Literature
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.
