Dab vs. Tab — What's the Difference?

Press against (something) lightly several times with a piece of absorbent material in order to clean or dry it or to apply a substance

A small flap or strip of material attached to or projecting from something, used to hold, fasten, or manipulate it, or for identification and information.

Strike with a light blow.

A second or further document or page that can be opened on a spreadsheet or web browser.

Perform a dance move or gesture in which one arm is bent at an angle across the chest while the other is fully extended parallel to the first arm, with the face turned towards the bent elbow

A restaurant bill

A small amount of something

Short for tableau curtains

Fingerprints

A part of a control surface, typically hinged, that modifies the action or response of the surface.

A small, commercially important flatfish found chiefly in the North Atlantic.

A cigarette.

A dance move or gesture, originating in hip hop and often performed as part of a celebration, in which one arm is bent at an angle across the upper chest while the other is fully extended parallel to the first arm, with the face turned towards the bent elbow

A facility in a word-processing program, or a device on a keyboard, for advancing to a sequence of set positions in tabular work

To apply with short poking strokes

A tablet, especially one containing an illicit drug

To cover lightly with a moist substance

A tabloid newspaper

To rub or pat (something) lightly

Short for tablature

To press (something) lightly against an object or surface

Mark or identify with a projecting piece of material

To remove or brush away with light strokes

Use the tab key on a computer or typewriter keyboard

To make light patting or stroking motions

Short for tabulate

A small amount

A projection, flap, or short strip attached to an object to facilitate opening, handling, or identification.

A quick light pat.

A small, usually decorative flap or tongue on a garment.

Any of various flatfishes, especially the edible Limanda limanda of northeast Atlantic waters.

A small auxiliary airfoil that is attached to a larger one and that helps stabilize an aircraft.

A dab hand.

A pull-tab.

(transitive) To press lightly in a repetitive motion with a soft object without rubbing.

A bill or check, such as one for a meal in a restaurant.

(transitive) To apply a substance in this way.

Cost; price

To strike by a thrust; to hit with a sudden blow or thrust.

A tabulator on a typewriter.

(slang) To apply hash oil to a heated surface for the purpose of efficient combustion.

A key on a computer keyboard that, when pressed, inserts a special ASCII character used for formatting text, as in indenting a line or block of text.

To perform the dab dance move, by moving both arms to one side of the body parallel with your head.

This special ASCII character.

A soft tap or blow; a blow or peck from a bird's beak; an aimed blow.

A tabloid.

(AAVE) A soft, playful box given in greeting or approval.

To supply with a tab or tabs.

A small amount, a blob of some soft or wet substance.

To press the tab on a typewriter or computer keyboard

(slang) A small amount of hash oil.

A small flap or strip of material attached to something, for holding, manipulation, identification, opening etc.

Fingerprint.

(slang) An ear.

(dance) A hip hop dance move in which the dancer simultaneously drops the head while raising an arm, briefly resting their face in the elbow, as if sneezing into their elbow.

A navigational widget, resembling a physical tab, for switching between documents or sets of controls.

(obsolete) A dabbler.

(GUI) The page or form associated with such a navigational widget.

One skilful or proficient; an expert; an adept.

A fast march or run with full kit.

A small flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae, especially Limanda limanda; a flounder.

A restaurant bill.

(US) A sand dab, a small flatfish of genus Citharichthys.

Credit account, e.g., in a shop or bar; slate

With a dab, or sudden contact.

(by extension) The cost or bill for anything.

Bad.

(computing) A space character that extends to the next aligned column, traditionally used for tabulation.

A skillful hand; a dabster; an expert.

A cigarette.

A name given to several species of flounders, esp. to the European species, Pleuronectes limanda. The American rough dab is Hippoglossoides platessoides.

A form of musical notation indicating fingering rather than the pitch of notes, commonly used for stringed instruments.

A gentle blow with the hand or some soft substance; a sudden blow or hit; a peck.

(Oxbridge slang) A student of Cambridge University.

A small mass of anything soft or moist.

(colloquial) A tabloid newspaper.

To strike or touch gently, as with a soft or moist substance; to tap; hence, to besmear with a dabber.

(informal) A tablet, especially one containing illicit drugs.

To strike by a thrust; to hit with a sudden blow or thrust.

(transitive) To affix with tabs; to label.

A light touch or stroke

(computing) To use the Tab key on a computer to advance the cursor or move the input focus, or on a typewriter to advance the carriage.

A small quantity of something moist or soft;

The flap or latchet of a shoe fastened with a string or a buckle.

Apply (usually a liquid) to a surface;

A tag. See Tag, 2.

Hit lightly;

A loop for pulling or lifting something.

A border of lace or other material, worn on the inner front edge of ladies' bonnets.

A loose pendent part of a lady's garment; esp., one of a series of pendent squares forming an edge or border.

A small projecting piece of a file folder, file card, or similar sheet used in a filing system, on which a notation is written to permit convenient search for the folder, card, etc.

A bill or check for some purchase, as in a restaurant; as, the salesman will pick up the tab.

A key on a typewriter or computer keyboard which advances the carriage or curser to the next (preset) tab position; - used especially to type or print text or numbers in columns.

The bill in a restaurant;

Sensationalist journalism

The key on an electric typewriter that causes a tabulation

A short strip of material attached to or projecting from something in order to facilitate opening or identifying or handling it;

A dose of medicine in the form of a small pellet