drab

1 of 5

adjective

drabber; drabbest
1
: characterized by dullness and monotony : cheerless
a drab life
drab industrial buildings
2
a
: of a light olive brown color : of the color drab (see drab entry 2 sense 1a)
b
: of the dull brown color of drab (see drab entry 2 sense 2)
drably adverb
drabness noun

drab

2 of 5

noun (1)

1
a
: a light olive brown
b
: a dull, lifeless, or faded appearance or quality
2
textiles : any of various cloths of a dull brown or gray color
dressed in drabs

drab

3 of 5

noun (2)

: a small amount
usually used in the phrase dribs and drabs
receiving donations in dribs and drabs

drab

4 of 5

noun (3)

plural drabs
1
2
: a woman who engages in sex acts and especially sexual intercourse in exchange for pay : a woman who is a sex worker

drab

5 of 5

verb

drabbed; drabbing; drabs

intransitive verb

: to associate with sex workers
… a waster, an idler; drinking and drabbingAldous Huxley

Examples of drab in a Sentence

Adjective He lives a drab life. the new city hall promises to be another drab pile of masonry for the town Noun (3) in its time, this waterfront dive was decried as a den of iniquity, unfit even for the drunks and drabs who haunted it
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
This encounter wasn’t as drab as the scoreline might suggest. Joseph O'Sullivan, Forbes, 7 Sep. 2024 Lighter shades of gray are having a moment, proving that hue is anything but drab. Laura Lajiness Kaupke, refinery29.com, 5 Sep. 2024 Like much of California, the previous annex needed renovation — plumbing, sprinklers for fires, Décor was drab. Joe Mathews, The Mercury News, 31 Aug. 2024 An image of soccer cleats sitting on a drab living room floor, for example, can be altered to appear in a more visually appealing grass field. John Kell, Fortune, 14 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for drab 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'drab.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1) and Adjective

Middle French drap cloth, from Late Latin drappus

Noun (2)

probably alteration of drib

Noun (3)

origin unknown

Verb

noun derivative of drab entry 4

First Known Use

Adjective

1686, in the meaning defined at sense 2b

Noun (1)

1541, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun (2)

1809, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

circa 1518, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1599, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of drab was circa 1518

Dictionary Entries Near drab

Cite this Entry

“Drab.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drab. Accessed 13 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

drab

1 of 2 noun
: a light olive brown

drab

2 of 2 adjective
drabber; drabbest
1
: of the color drab
2
: lacking variety and interest : dull
a drab life
drably adverb
drabness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on drab

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