slab

1 of 3

noun

ˈslab 

1

: a thick plate or slice (as of stone, wood, or bread): such as

a

: the outside piece cut from a log in squaring it

b

: concrete pavement (as of a road)

specifically : a strip of concrete pavement laid as a single unjointed piece

c(1)

: a flat rectangular architectural element that is usually formed of a single piece or mass

a concrete foundation slab

(2)

: a rectangular building having little width with respect to its length and usually height

2

: something that resembles a slab (as in size, shape, or density)

large slabs of text

3

: a hard plastic holder for a collectible coin and an identifying insert

slablike

ˈslab-ˌlīk 

adjective

slab

2 of 3

verb

slabbed; slabbing

transitive verb

1

a

: to remove an outer slab from

slab a log

b

: to divide or form into slabs

2

: to cover or support (something, such as a roadbed or roof) with slabs

3

: to put on thickly

slab

3 of 3

adjective

dialectal, chiefly England

: thick, viscous

Examples of slab in a Sentence

Noun

a thick slab of homemade bread

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

That’s a far cry from the old days when brisket was an inexpensive favorite of working-class Jews who learned to slowly cook this notoriously tough slab of meat to tender perfection. — Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 Aug. 2026

After the hearing, Khalil and his lawyers posed for photos in front of the National Constitution Center, where all forty-five words of the First Amendment were engraved on a fifty-ton slab of marble, then walked to a ramen bar for lunch. — Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026

Verb

Remove from oven; brush rib slabs evenly with remaining sauce. — Jasmine Smith, Southern Living, 9 May 2026

After snapping a few pictures in the fading light and then caping and slabbing off the sheep’s haunches and other edible meat, there was very little daylight left. — Jim Carmichel, Outdoor Life, 25 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English slabbe

Adjective

akin to Middle English slabben to wallow, obsolete Danish slab muck

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1703, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

1605, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing slab

• slab-sided

Rhymes for slab

• ab
• cab
• crab
• dab
• drab
• fab
• gab
• grab
• jab
• lab
• mab
• nab

Kids Definition

slab

noun

ˈslab

: a thick flat piece or slice (as of stone, wood, or bread)