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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Patrick De Haan, a petroleum expert at GasBuddy, said prices at the pump could start dropping as soon as this weekend, although the decline could initially amount to only a few cents per gallon.—
Marissa Sulek,
CBS News,
9 Apr. 2026
-
To some extent, nearly every gas station is polluting the ground beneath it, experts say.—
Ashley Miznazi,
Miami Herald,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Hunt said Scott Polk, the master jeweler who helped create her ring, also worked on her mother’s ring.—
Lisa Gutierrez,
Kansas City Star,
8 Apr. 2026
-
With sister Coco a gifted painter and her brother, Raymond, a master counterfeiter, the two end up in the middle of a scheme with a down-on-his-luck millionaire.—
Michelle F. Solomon,
Miami Herald,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Those scarring years as a scholar and apprentice at Norwich are part of the motivation behind Mitchell’s new venture, Edge Futures.—
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Ann McColl, a constitutional scholar and former general counsel for the North Carolina Association of Educators, suggested the issues Leandro addressed may be in North Carolina courts again.—
Rebecca Noel,
Charlotte Observer,
8 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
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Co-designed by Cuban American artist Mokibaby, Cho has many such devices designed to catch your eye.—
Connie Ogle,
Miami Herald,
6 Apr. 2026
-
For the cover of the April 13, 2026, Future Issue, the artist Christoph Niemann depicted an army of machines filling the horizon, one of whom cradles a human in its hand; that person is happily reaching toward a screen.—
Françoise Mouly,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Other guitar virtuosos might crave at least a little downtime between concluding a Las Vegas concert residency with one band and launching a national tour with another band, not but Joe Satriani.—
George Varga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
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Also appearing on the album are American composer Elliot Cole on synthesizer, French composer Benoit Rolland on electro-acoustics and Bangladeshi tabla virtuoso Mir Naqibul Islam.—
Arts Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Working with infield guru Ron Washington this year, Devers could be even better and Washington has raved about Devers’ ability.—
Susan Slusser,
San Francisco Chronicle,
5 Apr. 2026
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Political data guru Paul Mitchell, who has been running primary election simulations, pegs the chances of a Democratic lockout at 20%.—
George Skelton,
Mercury News,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dab hand.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dab%20hand. Accessed 13 Apr. 2026.
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