English

Noun

slab ‎(plural slabs)

1. (archaic) Mud, sludge.
   • 1664, John Evelyn, Sylva, Or A Discourse of Forest Trees, Volume 1,

     Some do also plant oziers in their eights, like quick-sets, thick, and (near the water) keep them not more than half a foot above ground; but then they must be diligently cleansed from moss, slab, and ouze, and frequently prun'd (especially the smaller spires) to form single shoots; […] .

2. A large, flat piece of solid material; a solid object that is large and flat.
   • 1859, John Lang, Botany Bay, or, True Tales of Early Australia, page 155,

     There were no windows in the inn. They were not required, since the interstices between the slabs suffered the wind, the rain, and the light of day to penetrate simultaneously.

   • 1913, Jack London, John Barleycorn, 2008, page 14,

     Then there was the Mexican who sold big slabs of chewing taffy for five cents each.

   • 2010, Ryan Humphreys, The Flirtations of Dan Harris, page 73,

     “The pier? You mean those few sodden logs tied together and that dingy slab of rough concrete.”

3. A paving stone; a flagstone.
4. (Australia) A carton containing twenty-four cans of beer.
   • 2001, Les Carlyon, Gallipoli, page 8,

     The Australians murder a few slabs of beer and the New Zealanders murder a few vowels.

   • 2008, Diem Vo, Family Life, Alice Pung (editor), page 156,

     However, unlike in Ramsay Street, there were never any cups of tea or bickies served. Instead, each family unit came armed with a slab of beer.

   • 2010, Holly Smith, Perth, Western Australia & the Outback, Hunter Publishing, unnumbered page,

     Common 375-ml cans are called tinnies, and can be bought in 24-can slabs for discounted prices.

   • 2009, Ross Fitzgerald, Trevor Jordan, Under the Influence: A History of Alcohol in Australia, 2011, unnumbered page,

     One essential part of the strategy for selling regionally identified beers beyond their borders was the selling of slabs — a package of four six-packs of stubbies or cans — for discounted prices interstate.

5. An outside piece taken from a log or timber when sawing it into boards, planks, etc.
6. A bird, the wryneck.
7. (nautical) The slack part of a sail.
8. (slang) A large, luxury pre-1980 General Motors vehicle, particularly a Buick, Oldsmobile or Cadillac.
9. (surfing) A very large wave.
   • 2009, Bruce Boal, The Surfing Yearbook, SurfersVillage, page 31,

     After being towed into a massive slab, Dorian dropped down the face and caught a rail, putting him in a near-impossible situation.

   • 2011, Douglas Booth, Surfing: The Ultimate Guide, page 95,

     In August 2000 he successfully rode a slab of unfathomable power at Teahupo′o.

10. (computing) A sequence of 12 adjacent bits, serving as a byte in some computers.
11. (geology) Part of a tectonic plate that is being subducted.
    • 2015, Dapeng Zhao, Multiscale Seismic Tomography, Springer, page 72,

      Being driven by the gravitational force, the subducting Pacific slab continues to sink down to the boundary between the upper and lower mantle...

Derived terms

• slab hut
• slab on grade

Translations

Verb

slab ‎(third-person singular simple present slabs, present participle slabbing, simple past and past participle slabbed)

1. (transitive) To make something into a slab.

Etymology 2

Compare Gaelic & Irish slaib, mud, mire left on a river strand, and English slop ‎(“puddle”).

Adjective

slab ‎(comparative more slab, superlative most slab)

1. Thick; viscous.
   • Shakespeare

     Make the gruel thick and slab.

Etymology 3

Acronym of Slow, Loud And Bangin'.

Noun

slab ‎(plural slabs)

1. (Southern US, slang) A car that has been modified with equipment such as loudspeakers, lights, special paint, hydraulics, and any other accessories that add to the style of the vehicle.

   Slim thug - wood grain wheel - You ain't riding slab if them ain't swangas on ya ride.

   • 2005, Chamillionaire (featuring Krayzie Bone), "Ridin'", The Sound of Revenge:

     Pull me over, try to check my slab

   • 2006, Trae (featuring Pimp C and Big Hawk), "Swang", Restless:

     I'mma swang, I'mma swing my slab lean to the left

   • 2012, Bobby Austin, By All Mean$, AuthorHouse (2012), ISBN 9781468542943, page 56:

     All three of them recognized who the Lexus'^[sic] belonged to so he parked his slab and they cocked their guns.

Usage notes

This term been popularized through the southern rap genre of hip-hop, most notably by rappers such as Paul Wall, Chamillionaire, Lil' Keke, and others.

Anagrams

• albs
• labs

Aromanian

Alternative forms

• slabu

Etymology

From a Slavic language, ultimately from Proto-Slavic *slabъ. Compare Daco-Romanian slab, Bulgarian and Macedonian слаб ‎(slab), Serbo-Croatian slab.

Adjective

slab m (feminine slabã, masculine plural slaghi, feminine plural slabi/slabe)

1. weak
2. lean, thin, skinny
3. bad, wicked, evil

Synonyms

• (bad): arãu

Antonyms

• (weak): vãrtos, cadãr, putut, ndrumin, silnãos
• (thin, lean): gras
• (bad): bun

Derived terms

• slãbintsã
• slãbushcu

Related terms

• slãghescu

Noun

slab m

1. evil

Synonyms

• arãu, rãu

Derived terms

• slabã

Italian

Etymology

English

Noun

slab m ‎(invariable)

1. slab (of metal to be worked)

Synonyms

• bramma

Romanian

Etymology

From Slavic slabŭ, Proto-Slavic *slabъ. Compare Aromanian slab, Bulgarian and Macedonian слаб ‎(slab), Serbo-Croatian slab.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [slab]

Adjective

slab m, n ‎(feminine singular slabă, masculine plural slabi, feminine and neuter plural slabe)

1. weak
2. thin, skinny

Declension

Antonyms

• (weak): puternic
• (thin): gras

Related terms

• slăbănog
• slăbătură
• slăbi
• slăbiciune
• slăbire
• slăbit
• slăbuț

See also

• subțire

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *slabъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /slâb/

Adjective

slȁb ‎(definite slȁbī, comparative slabiji, Cyrillic spelling сла̏б)

1. weak

Declension

Slovene

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *slabъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsláp/
• Tonal orthography: slȁb

Adjective

slàb ‎(comparative slábši, superlative nàjslábši)

1. bad (not good)
2. weak

Declension

This adjective needs an inflection-table template.

Derived terms

• preslàb