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Tab Very Common

Tab has 17 different meanings across 1 category:

Noun

Definitions
Noun
1

the bill in a restaurant

"he asked the waiter for the check"

2

sensationalist journalism

"The editor refused to run the story, fearing that publishing it would turn our respected paper into a tab filled with celebrity scandals and crime stories."

3

the key on a typewriter or a word processor that causes a tabulation

"I accidentally hit the tab key while typing my email, which moved the cursor too far to the right."

4

a short strip of material attached to or projecting from something in order to facilitate opening or identifying or handling it

"pull the tab to open the can"

"files with a red tab will be stored separately"

"the collar has a tab with a button hole"

"the filing cards were organized by cards having indexed tabs"

tab
5

a dose of medicine in the form of a small pellet

"She swallowed the bitter tab without any water because she was running late for her shift."

6

A small flap or strip of material attached to something, for holding, manipulation, identification, opening etc.

"The old Cambridge tradition has it that a student who lives on campus is called a tab while someone living off-site is known as an out."

7

A restaurant bill.

8

A cigarette.

9

A form of musical notation indicating fingering rather than the pitch of notes, commonly used for stringed instruments.

10

A student of Cambridge University.

11

A tabloid newspaper.

12

A tablet, especially one containing illicit drugs.

13

A tableau curtain.

14

A key on a computer keyboard that typically inserts a tab or moves the input focus.

15

Alternative letter-case form of tab (“student at Cambridge”)

In plain English: A tab is a small piece of paper that you can fold up and stick into a book to mark your place.

"Please pay the tab for dinner tonight."

Verb
1

To affix with tabs; to label.

"I pressed tab several times to jump past the label and type my answer directly into the next field."

2

To use the Tab key on a computer to advance the cursor or move the input focus, or on a typewriter to advance the carriage.

In plain English: To tab something means to write down its details so you can find it later.

"Please tab your name on the attendance sheet."

Usage: Use this verb when physically attaching paper or plastic dividers to binders, rather than using it as slang for browsing the internet. It is often confused with "tag," which means to attach a small piece of information without necessarily securing multiple pages together.

Example Sentences
"Please pay the tab for dinner tonight." noun
"He clicked on the file tab to open his latest report." noun
"The musician flipped through the tabs on her guitar neck." noun
"Please separate your drinks by putting each one in its own cup holder tab." noun
"Please tab your name on the attendance sheet." verb
Related Terms
Broader Terms (hypernyms)
bill journalism key strip dose
Narrower Terms (hyponyms)
bolus capsule dragee sleeping pill

Origin

The word tab first appeared in English around 1607, but its exact origins remain unknown to linguists. It likely entered the language as a shortened form of another term rather than evolving from an existing native root.

Rhyming Words
stab ixtab artab batab cantab maktab subtab pay tab repetab constab crontab backtab antistab backstab crosstab multitab liquitab trim tab hand tab cross tab
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