slab
1 Americannoun
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a broad, flat, somewhat thick piece of stone, wood, or other solid material.
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a thick slice of anything.
a slab of bread.
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a semifinished piece of iron or steel so rolled that its breadth is at least twice its thickness.
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a rough outside piece cut from a log, as when sawing one into boards.
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Baseball Slang. rubber.
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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)
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to make into a slab or slabs.
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to cover or lay with slabs.
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to cut the slabs or outside pieces from (a log).
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to put on in slabs; cover thickly.
adjective
noun
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a broad flat thick piece of wood, stone, or other material
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a thick slice of cake, etc
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any of the outside parts of a log that are sawn off while the log is being made into planks
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mountaineering a flat sheet of rock lying at an angle of between 30° and 60° from the horizontal
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a printer's ink table
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(modifier) made or constructed of coarse wooden planks
a slab hut
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informal an operating or mortuary table
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informal a package containing 24 cans of beer
verb
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to cut or make into a slab or slabs
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to cover or lay with slabs
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to saw slabs from (a log)
Etymology
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”
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.
With that careful pull, the slab compressed together, suddenly stood up, and took on the shape of a tiny, curvy, modernist-style chair.
From BBC • Mar. 3, 2026
Then add the feta as a single slab, not crumbles.
From Salon • Feb. 19, 2026
Trump’s a real-estate magnate; he sees a big slab of land; he wants it?
From Slate • Jan. 8, 2026
Cracks can form, allowing the rock to suddenly rupture and generate an earthquake within the slab.
From Science Daily • Jan. 1, 2026
The boy liked to smell the oak slab.
From "Sounder" by William H. Armstrong
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.
