as in expert
a person with a high level of knowledge or skill in a field
a British mystery writer who's an undisputed dab hand at building suspense
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Recent Examples of dab hand
The actor and director remains a dab hand at occasion dressing.
—
Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 13 Sep. 2025
All of which curious George, a dab hand at psychological manipulation, coaxes along with the gentlest of nudges.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2025
Van Norden, a dab hand with Shakespeare, is a natural for Shaw.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2024
Zach is a dab hand at herbal knockout potions and the occasional amateur amputation, and there’s a scene featuring the latter in which Wheatley indulges his twin tastes for deadpan comedy and head-on gross-outs to the extreme.
—BostonGlobe.com, 14 Apr. 2021
In addition to the outfits of the characters in her famous self-portraits, American artist Cindy Sherman is also a dab hand at finds for herself.
—Lily Templeton, WWD, 3 Sep. 2019
Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 13 Sep. 2025
All of which curious George, a dab hand at psychological manipulation, coaxes along with the gentlest of nudges.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2025
Van Norden, a dab hand with Shakespeare, is a natural for Shaw.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2024
Zach is a dab hand at herbal knockout potions and the occasional amateur amputation, and there’s a scene featuring the latter in which Wheatley indulges his twin tastes for deadpan comedy and head-on gross-outs to the extreme.
—BostonGlobe.com, 14 Apr. 2021
In addition to the outfits of the characters in her famous self-portraits, American artist Cindy Sherman is also a dab hand at finds for herself.
—Lily Templeton, WWD, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dab hand
Noun
-
Some experts say the animal may have lost its way while swimming after a shoal of herring or during migration.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Apr. 2026
-
But that wasn’t the case thanks to a few expert pats of Charlotte Tilbury’s popular setting powder — a product that’s been in my rotation for years.—
Izzy Baskette,
PEOPLE,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
By elevating a master product architect, Apple is betting that the ultimate victor of the AI age will be the company that owns the final, most valuable mile of the consumer experience.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Fortune,
21 Apr. 2026
-
Created from synthetic organic material, and thus more android than mechanical, these worker-roboti ultimately overthrow their human masters.—
Matthew Wills,
JSTOR Daily,
21 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
As one of the nation’s most consequential legal thinkers and scholars, Heather Gerken has long directed her fierce intellect toward defending free and fair elections, a strong civic architecture, and the rule of law.—
Elizabeth Alexander,
Time,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Legal scholars hinge that false opinion on their false understanding of grammar.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Tech pioneer adept at shifting gears Atom Power was co-founded in 2015 by Kouroussis and Ryan Kennedy as a UNC Charlotte incubator, a project that started at the college before spinning off its own company and moving to the Lake Norman area.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Meanwhile, Alouette has become an adept of dye recipes.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Every version of Merlin the wizard, spanning an expansive gender spectrum.—
Jaclyn Cosgrove,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Daniel Bernhardt is Deathstalker, a legendary swordsman stuck with a cursed amulet who befriends swamp monsters and teams with a mini wizard (voiced by Patton Oswalt) to stop a dark magic from ruling the land.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
That kind of popularity and radiant goodness produces a lineage of artists but doesn’t have the crowd appeal of a lone genius who invents a flying machine or pulls a seventeen-foot sculpture out of a block of marble.—
Zachary Fine,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Not artists — nurses, teachers, baristas Imas is careful to distinguish his argument from a romantic vision of a world full of painters and performers.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
19 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Now the Catalan viol virtuoso returns to Zellerbach Hall with a program featuring his Hespèrion XXI and nearly three dozen international musicians in a concert weaving a range of musical traditions.—
Randy McMullen,
Mercury News,
16 Apr. 2026
-
The 41-year-old bass virtuoso and R&B visionary has done the same before, dedicating his Grammy-winning previous album to rapper Mac Miller, a longtime friend.—
The Week US,
TheWeek,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The spa There's no spa on site, but a 1,700-square-foot fitness center and the option of having an in-room Peloton set up (the virtual exercise company's Hudson Yards headquarters is visible from the hotel gym itself) will be much appreciated by fitness gurus.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
21 Apr. 2026
-
Wall Street’s bull case, then, rests on Ternus, 51, being the right mix of traditional hardware guru and decisive innovator.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
21 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dab hand.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dab%20hand. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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