slab

¹

[ slab ]

noun

1. a broad, flat, somewhat thick piece of stone, wood, or other solid material.
2. a thick slice of anything:

   a slab of bread.

3. a semifinished piece of iron or steel so rolled that its breadth is at least twice its thickness.
4. a rough outside piece cut from a log, as when sawing one into boards.
5. Baseball Slang. rubber ¹( def 14 ).
6. 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, slab·bing.

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

slab

²

[ slab ]

adjective

, Scot. and North England.

1. thick; viscous.

slab

/ slæb /

noun

1. a broad flat thick piece of wood, stone, or other material
2. a thick slice of cake, etc
3. any of the outside parts of a log that are sawn off while the log is being made into planks
4. mountaineering a flat sheet of rock lying at an angle of between 30° and 60° from the horizontal
5. a printer's ink table
6. modifier made or constructed of coarse wooden planks

   a slab hut

7. informal.
   an operating or mortuary table
8. informal.
   a package containing 24 cans of beer

verb

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

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 “mire,” Danish slab “mud,” Icelandic slabba “to wade in mud”

Word History and Origins

Origin of slab¹

C13: of unknown origin

Example Sentences

For over a decade with LAist and his previous employer, Voice of OC, Gerda reported on Do the way a sculptor works a slab of marble.

From Los Angeles Times

The slab didn’t give off detectable amounts of any “toxic organic compound” when cut, nor were there “relevant differences in particle sizes,” according to a Cosentino summary.

From Los Angeles Times

Sure, England’s 823-7 declared on the first-Test slab of concrete in Multan was fun for its silliness, it just wasn’t great viewing for the lack of contest between bat and ball.

From BBC

Victims’ names are listed on pointed granite slabs meant to evoke a crown, which surround a slab stating, “We Remember and Honor Them / Crowned with the love of our Ciudad Fronteriza” — our border town.

From Los Angeles Times

In the meantime imported steel slab will be milled in Port Talbot to continue supplying customers and Tata's downstream sites in Trostre, Llanwern and Shotton.

From BBC

Related Words

• hunk
• ingot
• lump
• piece
• plate
• rod
• slice
• stone
• strip
• wedge