slab
pronunciation
How to pronounce slab in British English:
UK [slæb]
How to pronounce slab in American English:
US [slæb]
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- Noun:
- block consisting of a thick piece of something
Word Origin
- slab (n.)
- late 13c., "large, flat mass," of unknown origin, possibly related to Old French escopel, escalpe "thin fragment of wood," which according to Klein is possibly a Gaulish word (compare Breton scolp, Welsh ysgolp "splinter, chip"). But OED rejects this on formal grounds. Meaning "rectangular block of pre-cast concrete used in building" is from 1927. Slab-sided is "having flat sides like slabs," hence "tall and lank" (1817, American English).
Example
- 1. On the structure design of abutment approach slab .
- 2. Nearby brocolitia fort remains unexcavated , the only hint of its existence being a grassy mound with a carved stone slab in the centre .
- 3. A slab that might easily be hoisted into place .
- 4. This is why a slab of shark meat contains more mercury than its weight in plankton .
- 5. A slab of onyx and a singing computer get two astronauts in hot water .