Tab
WordNet
noun
(1) A dose of medicine in the form of a small pellet
(2) A short strip of material attached to or projecting from something in order to facilitate opening or identifying or handling it
"Pull the tab to open the can"
"Files with a red tab will be stored separately"
"The collar has a tab with a button hole"
"The filing cards were organized by cards having indexed tabs"
(3) The key on a typewriter or a word processor that causes a tabulation
(4) Sensationalist journalism
(5) The bill in a restaurant
"He asked the waiter for the check"
WiktionaryText
Noun
- A small flap or strip of material attached to something, for holding, manipulation, identification, etc.
- A tablet, especially one containing illicit drugs.
- A fast march or run with full kit.
- A student of Cambridge University, derived from the Latin Cantabrigia (often shortened to Cantab.).
- A navigational widget in a GUI for switching between sets of controls or documents.
Verb
- Mark with a tab.
- To use the tab key on a computer or typewriter to navigate the screen or page.
- Short for tabulate.
Noun
- A restaurant bill.
- Credit account, e.g., in a shop or bar.
- Put this round on my tab, will you, barman.
- Short for tabulator.
- A space character that extends to the next aligned column, traditionally used for tabulation.
Etymology 3
Likely to have been formed by clipping the Geordie pronunciation of the word or alternatively from the brand name Ogden's Tabs.