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
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Earlier this week, OpenAI announced a council of eight experts who will advise the company and provide insight into how AI affects users’ mental health, emotions and motivation.—
Ashley Capoot,
CNBC,
17 Oct. 2025
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This is done in an effort to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses and decimate civilian morale, experts have said.—
Catherine Nicholls,
CNN Money,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Amber has since earned her master's in social work from Louisiana State University (LSU), per the family's Instagram.—
Emily Weaver,
PEOPLE,
15 Oct. 2025
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Zarco trained Abdiel Iván Batista, a master jungle rescue instructor who is the director of the Chagres Survival School, CEO of the Safe Jungles Foundation and member of the Panamanian Red Cross First Aid Corps.—
Kit Bernardi,
USA Today,
14 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Most legal scholars interpret this to mean that the President’s duty is to spend the money Congress appropriates, and that the President does not have the power to withhold funds.—
Andy Kroll,
New Yorker,
17 Oct. 2025
-
Harvard’s Erica Chenoweth, director of the Non-Violent Action Lab and one of the world’s leading scholars of protest movements, has shown that peaceful resistance is twice as likely to succeed as violent resistance.—
Nancy Gibbs,
Time,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
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An effective trustee is skilled in conflict resolution and adept at maintaining open communication while prioritizing the trust’s objectives.—
Royce Ramey,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
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Slot shares this staple of Tottenham counterpart Ange Postecoglou’s attacking principles, with Porro adept at tucking inside to disrupt the opposition shape.—
Andy Jones,
New York Times,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Then again, even the fictional boarding school for witches and wizards in the Harry Potter series did not have a production line like Barcelona’s academy.—
Laia Cervelló Herrero,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
-
They’re not confronted with wizards.—
Sara Merican,
Deadline,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
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India Jane Birley is an artist, while Jemima Goldsmith, known professionally as Jemima Khan, founded Instinct Productions, which specializes in television, documentaries and film production.—
Samantha Conti,
Footwear News,
18 Oct. 2025
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In my new thriller The Gallery Assistant, a female artist slated to be shown by the gallery where my protagonist, Chloe, works, is found murdered in her loft the morning after a party.—
Kate Belli,
PEOPLE,
18 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Palamides, as a physical-comedy virtuoso, loves mess—there’s a splash zone near the front, with audience members wearing plastic ponchos.—
Helen Shaw,
New Yorker,
17 Oct. 2025
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D’Angelo was raised in a deeply religious Pentecostal family and got his musical start in the church, becoming a virtuoso at several instruments.—
Andrew R. Chow,
Time,
14 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The guru was in prison and refused to leave prison without the other 52 political prisoners being released.—
Jenna Prestininzi,
Freep.com,
15 Oct. 2025
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In Jodie Foster’s satire-cum-thriller, George Clooney plays a Jim Cramer-ish TV finance guru whose bullish promotion of one stock has led desperate prole Jack O’Connell to lose his life savings, leading to a hostage standoff in the TV studio.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
10 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dab hand.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dab%20hand. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
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