Meanings
alternative syabu
- IndonesiaPhilippinesslanguncountableSoutheast AsiaMethedrine; methamphetamine.
[…] some P6.4 billion worth of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu was slipped passed the BOC through its automated classification system.
2017 August 1, Mario Casayuran, “Customs payola: P147 B?”, in Manila Bulletin1 more example
[…] burning or hammer-smashing of confiscated paraphernalia, however these be illegal — such as marijuana, plastic bags of shabu, pinball machines, video arcade equipment — since such acts of showmanship only lend themselves to media […]
1997, Alfred A. Yuson, FVR, Sin, Erap, Jawô and other peeves, Anvil Books
Synonyms & antonyms
nounan amphetamine derivative (trade name Methedrine) used in the form of a crystalline hydrochloride; used as a stimulant to the nervous system and as an appetite suppressant
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Japaneseシャブ“stimulant: amphetamine, methamphetamine”
- Englishshabu
Probably from Japanese シャブ (“stimulant: amphetamine, methamphetamine”), in turn possibly from the verb しゃぶる (shaburu, “to suck on something”), from the way that the addictiveness of the drugs sucks in the user.
More words from Japanese
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
shabu. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shabu
“shabu.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shabu. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shabu,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shabu.
Source: shabu on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.