blab
/blæb/verb, noun
blab is spelled B-L-A-B: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 67,454th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, blab means “To tell tales; to gossip without reserve or discretion” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in blab?
| Letters | 4: B-L-A-B |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 67,454th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is blab?
Blab appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 67,454th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce blab?
- /blæb/
Blab has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-blab.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of blab
- blabs present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- blabbing participle, present
- blabbed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does blab mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To tell tales; to gossip without reserve or discretion.
blab about something
- 2
to speak carelessly or excessively
noun
- 1
One who blabs; a babbler; a telltale; a gossip or gossiper.
- 2
Gossip; prattle.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Blab in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense tell tales:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | cotillear |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does blab come from?
From Middle English blabben (“to talk foolishly”), perhaps from Middle English blabbe (“idle talk; talebearer”). Compare Middle English blaberen (“to blabber, babble”), Middle High German blabezen (“to stammer, babble”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).