drab
/dɹæb/noun, adjective
drab is spelled D-R-A-B: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,556th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, drab means “A fabric, usually of thick cotton or wool, having a dull brownish yellow, dull grey, or dun colour” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of drab is drabs.
How many letters and syllables are in drab?
| Letters | 4: D-R-A-B |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.0 times per million words; the 28,556th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is drab?
Drab appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,556th 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 drab?
- US /dɹæb/
Drab 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-drab.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with drab?
5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as drab from its last stressed vowel (/æb/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: brad, bard, darb.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of drab
- drabs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- drabber comparative
- drabbest superlative
- drabbing participle, present
- drabbed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does drab mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A fabric, usually of thick cotton or wool, having a dull brownish yellow, dull grey, or dun colour.
- 2
The color of this fabric.
- 3
Often in the plural form drabs: apparel, especially trousers, made from this fabric.
- 4
A dull or uninteresting appearance or situation, unremarkable.
- 5
A small amount, especially of money.
- 6
A box used in a saltworks for holding the salt when taken out of the boiling pans.
- 7
An instance of a transgender or non-binary person presenting as the gender corresponding to their sex assigned at birth instead of that corresponding to their internal gender identity (most commonly a trans woman dressed as a man).
- 8
datedA dirty or untidy woman; a slattern.
- 9
datedA promiscuous woman, a slut; a prostitute.
- 10
obsoleteslangPoison.
adjective
- 1
Of the color of some types of drabcloth: dull brownish yellow or dun.
- 2
Particularly of color: dull, uninteresting.
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo consort with prostitutes; to whore.
- 2
obsoleteslangTo poison.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Drab in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | grosse toile écrue , gris-beige , apparence terne, aspect morne , grisâtre, beigeasse |
| German | langweilig, tröge |
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.