- dull; dingy; shabby
- cheerless; dreary: a drab evening
- of the colour drab
- a light olive-brown colour
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
drab1 /dræb/USA pronunciation
adj., drab•ber, drab•best, n.
adj.
n. [uncountable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026adj.
- lacking in brightness;
dull:a drab, cheerless office. - of the color drab.
n. [uncountable]
- a brownish gray.
- Textilesany of several fabrics of this color.
drab1
(drab),USA pronunciation adj., drab•ber, drab•best, n.
adj.
n.
drab′ly, adv.
drab′ness, n.
drab2 (drab),USA pronunciation n., v., drabbed, drab•bing.
n.
v.i.
adj.
- dull;
cheerless;
lacking in spirit, brightness, etc. - having the color drab.
n.
- dull gray;
dull brownish or yellowish gray. - Textilesany of several fabrics of this color, esp. of thick wool or cotton.
- Late Latin drappus piece of cloth
- Middle French drap
- 1535–45
drab′ness, n.
drab2 (drab),USA pronunciation n., v., drabbed, drab•bing.
n.
- a dirty, untidy woman;
slattern. - a prostitute.
v.i.
- to associate with drabs.
- 1505–15; perh. akin to Dutch drab dregs, lees, obsolete Dutch drablen to run or tramp about; compare drabble, draff
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
drab /dræb/ adj (drabber, drabbest)
drab /dræb/ archaic n
- a slatternly woman
- a prostitute
- (intransitive) to consort with prostitutes
'drab' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
dingy
- drape
- mumsy
- OD
- olive drab
- subfusc
- anonymous
- camouflage
- chador
- cheerless
- clay
- colorless
- deep mourning
- diving petrel
- dowdy
- drabble
- draff
- featureless
- frump
- mode
- mousy
- plain Jane
- sad
- seaside sparrow