dab hand

noun

chiefly British

: expert

Synonyms

• ace
• adept
• artist
• authority
• cognoscente
• connoisseur
• crackerjack
• crackajack
• dab [chiefly British]
• expert
• fiend
• geek
• guru
• hand
• hotshot
• maestro
• master
• maven
• mavin
• meister
• past master
• proficient
• scholar
• shark
• sharp
• virtuoso
• whiz
• wizard

Examples of dab hand in a Sentence

He's a dab hand at cooking.

She's a dab hand in the kitchen.

She's always been a dab hand with a paint brush.

Recent Examples on the Web

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

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

Van Norden, a dab hand with Shakespeare, is a natural for Shaw. —Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2024

Benedict, meanwhile, is an expert colorist, a dab hand with print who knows all about decorative drama. —Grace McCloud, Vogue, 21 Nov. 2023

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

Sarah, a dab hand at deflecting sexism and maintaining her professional composure, takes the microphone and expresses her excitement at being on board. —Justin Chang Film Critic, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2020

That, perhaps, is a little less in the bag, but the Kremlin’s operatives are dab hands at suppressing protests and neutering the press. —The Economist, 12 Mar. 2020

This is a very different approach to sister-in-law Kate Middleton, and Harry’s older brother, Prince William, who have so far welcomed three royal babies into the world, and are kind of a dab hand at the whole thing. —Lucy Wood, Marie Claire, 11 Apr. 2019

Word History

Etymology

dab entry 4

First Known Use

circa 1828, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for dab hand

• armband
• backhand
• bandstand
• baseband
• broadband
• command
• cropland
• demand
• disband
• dreamland
• expand
• farmhand