Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Of a dull grayish to yellowish brown.
- adjective Of a light olive brown or khaki color.
- adjective Faded and dull in appearance.
- adjective Dull or commonplace in character; dreary: synonym: dull.
- noun A dull grayish to yellowish or light olive brown.
- noun Cloth of this color or of an unbleached natural color.
- noun A negligible amount.
- noun A slovenly woman; a slattern.
- noun A woman prostitute.
- intransitive verb To consort with prostitutes.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To associate with strumpets.
- noun A kind of wooden box used in salt-works for holding the salt when taken out of the boiling-pans. Its bottom is shelving or inclining, that the water may drain off.
- noun A thick woolen cloth of a yellowish-gray color.
- noun A yellowish-gray tint.
- Of a yellowish-gray color, like the cloth so called.
- noun An English collectors' name for a number of noctuid moths of a drab color: as, the clouded drab, Tæniocampa instabilis; the northern drab, T. opima; the lead-colored drab, T. populeti.
- noun A slut; a slattern.
- noun A strumpet; a prostitute.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A low, sluttish woman.
- noun A lewd wench; a strumpet.
- noun A wooden box, used in salt works for holding the salt when taken out of the boiling pans.
- intransitive verb To associate with strumpets; to wench.
- noun A kind of thick woolen cloth of a dun, or dull brownish yellow, or dull gray, color; -- called also
drabcloth . - noun A dull brownish yellow or dull gray color.
- adjective Of a color between gray and brown.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
fabric , usually of thickwool orcotton , having a drabblee . - noun A wooden box, used in salt works for holding the salt when taken out of the boiling pans.
- adjective
Dull ,uninteresting , particularly ofcolour . - noun dated A dirty or untidy
woman ; aslattern . - noun dated A promiscuous woman, a
slut ; aprostitute . - verb obsolete To consort with
prostitutes .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective lacking in liveliness or charm or surprise
- adjective of a light brownish green color
- adjective lacking brightness or color; dull
- adjective causing dejection
- noun a dull greyish to yellowish or light olive brown
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word drab.
Examples
-
The language is difficult to understand and it is just plain drab to read.
-
I was often told to cut my hair, to wear shorter heels, to dress in drab colors.
Krystal Ball: The Next Glass Ceiling Krystal Ball 2010
-
A young student of Germans and Jews, supporting himself on grant money and dressed warmly in drab sidewalk grays, beset by his ideas and his passion, he announces, “They are an immoral gaggle of sleazy, lying, undemocratic and dangerous, ulterior motive-driven despots.”
-
I was often told to cut my hair, to wear shorter heels, to dress in drab colors.
Krystal Ball: The Next Glass Ceiling Krystal Ball 2010
-
I objected to the fact that most movies, even period movies, show the poor people in drab colors and torn costumes.
-
I objected to the fact that most movies, even period movies, show the poor people in drab colors and torn costumes.
Archive 2007-05-01 2007
-
Lasting sometimes for days in drab locales, drizzle can move large amounts of water from the atmosphere.
Archive 2007-03-01 2007
-
The streets were dominated by men in drab clothes; boys carried trays of coffee and tea into offices; and the bus station was a jumble of produce stands amid lines of vehicles departing at no particular time — no disadvantage for me, because this was a traditional society in which strangers are immediately looked after.
Israel Now 2000
-
The streets were dominated by men in drab clothes; boys carried trays of coffee and tea into offices; and the bus station was a jumble of produce stands amid lines of vehicles departing at no particular time — no disadvantage for me, because this was a traditional society in which strangers are immediately looked after.
Israel Now 2000
-
The streets were dominated by men in drab clothes; boys carried trays of coffee and tea into offices; and the bus station was a jumble of produce stands amid lines of vehicles departing at no particular time — no disadvantage for me, because this was a traditional society in which strangers are immediately looked after.
Israel Now 2000
oroboros commented on the word drab
Bard in reverse.
July 22, 2007
frindley commented on the word drab
Noun form (Shorter OED):
A dirty, untidy woman; a slut, a slattern
April 12, 2008
frindley commented on the word drab
As a colour (Shorter OED):
A dull, light brown.
"Woe to white gowns! Woe to black! Drab was your only wear." (M.R. Mitford)
April 12, 2008