dab hand

noun

Definition of dab handnext
chiefly British
as in expert
a person with a high level of knowledge or skill in a field a British mystery writer who's an undisputed dab hand at building suspense

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dab hand The actor and director remains a dab hand at occasion dressing. — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 13 Sep. 2025 All of which curious George, a dab hand at psychological manipulation, coaxes along with the gentlest of nudges. — Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2025 Van Norden, a dab hand with Shakespeare, is a natural for Shaw. — Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2024 Zach is a dab hand at herbal knockout potions and the occasional amateur amputation, and there’s a scene featuring the latter in which Wheatley indulges his twin tastes for deadpan comedy and head-on gross-outs to the extreme. — BostonGlobe.com, 14 Apr. 2021 In addition to the outfits of the characters in her famous self-portraits, American artist Cindy Sherman is also a dab hand at finds for herself. — Lily Templeton, WWD, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dab hand
  1. expert
  2. master
  3. scholar
  4. adept
  5. wizard
  6. artist
  7. virtuoso
  8. guru
Noun
  • These experts assign ratings after analyzing a company's financials and ability to consistently pay dividends while also seeking capital appreciation.
    — TipRanks.com Staff, CNBC, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Leading the way in court There are dozens of cases across the country surrounding the legal status of prediction sites, and experts believe the matter will eventually be decided by the Supreme Court.
    — Marshall Cohen, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of expert
Noun
  • Braking performance comes courtesy of Gale Speed calipers, a Kustom Tech master cylinder, and custom in-house caliper brackets.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The Illusion Of 'Clean' Data Over the past decade, companies have poured enormous effort into data quality, governance frameworks, master data initiatives and cloud migrations.
    — Kevin Campbell, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of master
Noun
  • Margot has been absorbed with a new idea she’s discovered in her work and has even reached out to a scholar at NASA to discuss it.
    — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2026
  • As scholars now know, Capa’s early oeuvre encompassed works by both him and Taro.
    — Alissa Simon, Variety, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of scholar
Noun
  • Still, the question of what Ebel was doing with his adepts swept through Prussia, dominating the newspapers that had only recently begun to emerge from their eighteenth-century chronicling of obligations to a more modern publicizing role.
    — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Lest things get predictable, Tasjan’s adept at letting the music battle with the lyrics in a way that hints at how any experience is far more complex than we are led to believe.
    — Marissa R. Moss, Rolling Stone, 17 July 2026
Definition of adept
Noun
  • Still, Lombard arrived with the reputation of a fielding wizard after his predecessor, Anthony Volpe, saw his defense drastically decline while playing through a shoulder injury last season.
    — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 28 Aug. 2026
  • And for all the Padres’ successes under private equity wizard Peter Seidler, his biggest bet went bust, the ‘23 Padres missing the playoffs despite his approving MLB’s third-highest payroll.
    — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of wizard
Noun
  • Giannetos is the artist behind Amal’s covetable hair, who crafted more boho brunette shades of caramel-brown and deft, light layers for the lawyer and humanitarian this summer.
    — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Bad Bunny and several other artists scored a major win in a copyright lawsuit against them, with a federal judge reversing a previous decision that allowed the case to proceed toward trial.
    — Liza Esquibias, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of artist
Noun
  • Stomp-and-holler virtuoso Noah Kahan had to cancel his July appearance at Citi Field when storm clouds threatened.
    — Matthew Schneier, Curbed, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Roy Clark could show up at Felix and Oscar’s New York apartment in The Odd Couple to demonstrate his virtuoso pickin’ skills and be summoned to Burbank to sub in for Johnny Carson as a guest host of The Tonight Show.
    — David Kamp, HollywoodReporter, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of virtuoso
Noun
  • This group of women travelled for more than 30 hours with their guru to bathe in the river.
    — PhotoVogue, Vogue, 29 Aug. 2026
  • George traveled to India to study the sitar at the feet of his new guru, Ravi Shankar.
    — Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of guru

Browse Nearby Words

dabbling
dab hand
dab hands
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Dab hand.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dab%20hand. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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