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
-
This class, featuring insights from experts like Amy Cuddy and Sylvia Ann Hewlett, explores the concept of presence in communication and leadership, offering strategies to enhance executive presence, build confidence, and effectively manage performance anxiety for professional success.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
29 Apr. 2026
-
But security experts say the name may be a flag of convenience rather than a coherent group, and its claims should be treated with caution.—
Jill Lawless,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
This new iteration was partly handled by Room40 label boss Lawrence English, who reconstructed the original master tapes and blended them with recent performances by Lockwood and Vanessa Tomlinson, who plays the gong.—
Joshua Minsoo Kim,
Pitchfork,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Leaders of the gardens have been undergoing a master planning effort for more than a year in an effort to accommodate visitation of the botanical garden doubling to more than 300,000 people annually over the past decade.—
Ryan Gillespie,
The Orlando Sentinel,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Van Bendegem, who would become a leading scholar on ultrafinitist logic, later addressed these concerns by considering a geometry in which a line or curve has width and is both finite and finitely divisible.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Ted Kaptchuk, an acupuncturist and leading scholar of the placebo effect, has described this phenomenon in detail.—
Hannah Kerman,
STAT,
29 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
-
The books also followed Harry on his mission to stop Lord Voldemort, a dark wizard who killed his parents and wants to rule both the wizard and Muggle (non-magical) world.—
Jason Pham,
StyleCaster,
1 May 2026
-
Sure, young wizard Harry Potter and his pals, Hermione and Ron, can use their magical skills to defeat the forces of evil.—
Rob Hubbard,
Twin Cities,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Standing on a circular base, her long peplos falls in both deep and shallow folds; it was meticulously sculpted by a single artist, rather than a workshop, to appear lifelike with natural depth and contour.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
26 Apr. 2026
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Alice Webb, who died in 2022, was a local artist and art teacher who touched many lives through her watercolors, oils and etchings.—
Janet Kusterer,
Baltimore Sun,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
In positioning Mollestad as an exploratory team player, its six tracks reveal her chops well beyond that of a showboating virtuoso.—
Joshua Minsoo Kim,
Pitchfork,
24 Apr. 2026
-
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
Noun
-
The classes will be led by fan favorite instructors like running and strength coach Rebecca Kennedy, cycling guide Ally Love and cardio and strength guru Rad Lopez.—
Greta Cross,
USA Today,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Bambaataa exuded a guru aspect, the source of his virtue being, in some sense, his fidelity to home.—
Doreen St. Félix,
New Yorker,
25 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dab hand.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dab%20hand. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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