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# tab

«tab» in Mova's school dictionary: **a small flap or strip sticking out of something, used for…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a tab, tabs); verb (tab, tabs, tabbed, tabbing)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A tab is a small flap or strip sticking out of something, used for pulling, holding or labelling it, like the tab on a can or a folder. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tab/#m1)

2) On a computer, a tab is one of the pages open in a web browser, shown as a little label along the top. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tab/#m2)

3) The Tab key on a keyboard moves the cursor forward to the next space or box. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tab/#m3)

4) (informal) A tab is a bill for food or drinks that you pay later, as in «put it on my tab». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tab/#m4)

5) «Keep tabs on» someone means to watch them carefully to know what they are doing. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tab/#m5)

6) (UK, slang) A tab can mean a cigarette in some parts of England. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tab/#m6)

### sense in the lessons

In computing lessons, pupils open and close browser tabs and use the Tab key to move between boxes in a form. In everyday life, tabs are on drink cans, files and clothes labels. In stories, «keep tabs on» shows someone watching or checking on another person. Phrases: «open a new tab», «close the tab», «keep tabs on», «pick up the tab» (pay the bill), «ring-pull tab».

### examples

- I had twelve tabs open, and the computer slowed down. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tab/#x1)
- Press Tab to jump to the next box. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tab/#x2)
- Pull the tab to open the can. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tab/#x3)
- Our teacher keeps tabs on who has finished their reading. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tab/#x4)
- Grandad picked up the tab for the whole family's dinner. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tab/#x5)
- Each folder has a coloured tab with a name on it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tab/#x6)
- Close that tab and go back to the maths website. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tab/#x7)
- The coat had a little tab for hanging it on a hook. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tab/#x8)

### note

Countable noun. Verb forms double the b: tabbed, tabbing. «Pick up the tab» means pay for everyone, not lift a flap. «Tab» as a cigarette is regional British slang. In maths and data, «tab-separated» means split by tab spaces.

### In the corpora

- [Lateral reading means checking a website by opening a new tab and reading what others say about it.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/politics/35-how-to-check-who-how-who-else/9/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «tab» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tab/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.