Meanings
nabe1
plural nabes
- slangNeighborhood.
Cagers Will Attend ‘Nabe’ Gym Smoker. Practically every basketball player in the city has promised to attend the benefit smoker at the Neighborhood House gym, Tenth and Galapago, Monday night.
1922, Denver Post 2 Dec. 10/8 (head & text)1 more example
“Biggest flopperoo of year, so far,” wrote Green “was the highly touted preeming of Biff Brown’s band at the Ritz, nabe dancery near Bridgeport.” … Glossary of Swing Words in this Chapter. … Nabe dancery: Neighborhood ballroom.
1938, Tommy Dorsey and George D. Lottman, “Love in Swingtime“ (syndicated serial) The Times-Picayune (New Orleans) 9 Aug. 12/2 and 12/3 - slangfrequently in the pluralNeighborhood theater, neighborhood cinema.
They picked an aging star, slapped together a moldy script, and sent the result out to the nabes.
1970, New Yorker
nabe2
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA Japanese hot pot dish.
Origin
nabe · noun
Clipping of neighborhood; compare hood. In attributive use, attested since 1922; in noun sense “neighborhood”, since 1942; in noun sense “neighborhood theater”, since 1933, originally in New York City.
Full word history & related roots →nabe · noun
- Japanese鍋物
- Englishnabe
Clipping of nabemono, from Japanese 鍋物.
More words from Japanese
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with nabe
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
nabe. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nabe
“nabe.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nabe. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nabe,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nabe.
Source: nabe on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.