drab

1 of 5

adjective

ˈdrab 

drabber; drabbest

1

: characterized by dullness and monotony : cheerless

a drab life

drab industrial buildings

2

a

: of a light olive brown color : of the color drab (see drab entry 2 sense 1a)

b

: of the dull brown color of drab (see drab entry 2 sense 2)

drably adverb

drabness noun

drab

2 of 5

noun (1)

1

a

: a light olive brown

b

: a dull, lifeless, or faded appearance or quality

2

textiles : any of various cloths of a dull brown or gray color

dressed in drabs

drab

3 of 5

noun (2)

: a small amount

—usually used in the phrase dribs and drabs

receiving donations in dribs and drabs

drab

4 of 5

noun (3)

plural drabs

1

: slattern

2

: a woman who engages in sex acts and especially sexual intercourse in exchange for pay : a woman who is a sex worker

drab

5 of 5

verb

drabbed; drabbing; drabs

intransitive verb

: to associate with sex workers

… a waster, an idler; drinking and drabbing …

—Aldous Huxley

Synonyms

Adjective

• arid
• boring
• colorless
• dreary
• drudging
• dry
• dull
• dusty
• flat
• heavy
• ho-hum
• humdrum
• jading
• jejune
• leaden
• mind-numbing
• monochromatic
• monotonous
• numbing
• old
• pedestrian
• ponderous
• slow
• stale
• stodgy
• stuffy
• stupid
• tame
• tedious
• tiresome
• tiring
• uninteresting
• wearisome
• weary
• wearying

Noun (3)

• bawd
• call girl
• cocotte
• courtesan
• hooker
• hustler
• prostitute
• sex worker
• streetwalker
• tart
• whore

Examples of drab in a Sentence

Adjective

He lives a drab life.

the new city hall promises to be another drab pile of masonry for the town

Noun (3)

in its time, this waterfront dive was decried as a den of iniquity, unfit even for the drunks and drabs who haunted it

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

There once was a plan to turn an aging, drab collection of state office buildings in Baltimore into a thriving mixed-use development with retail and residential components. —Baltimore Sun Editorial Board, Baltimore Sun, 21 Nov. 2024

Here’s how a drab Soviet metropolis became Central Asia’s capital of cool. —Daniel Wine, CNN, 20 Nov. 2024

Noun

Members of the first team squad appear back at the training facilities in drips and drabs, some nursing jet lag from globetrotting flights around the world. —Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes, 23 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1) and Adjective

Middle French drap cloth, from Late Latin drappus

Noun (2)

probably alteration of drib

Noun (3)

origin unknown

Verb

noun derivative of drab entry 4

First Known Use

Adjective

1686, in the meaning defined at sense 2b

Noun (1)

1541, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun (2)

1809, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

circa 1518, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1599, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing drab

• olive drab

Kids Definition

drab

1 of 2 noun

ˈdrab 

: a light olive brown

drab

2 of 2 adjective

drabber; drabbest

1

: of the color drab

2

: lacking variety and interest : dull

a drab life

drably adverb

drabness noun