tab stop

noun

On a typewriter, any of the horizontal locations where the carriage movement is halted by mechanical gears.

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Meanings

nountab stop (plural tab stops)

plural tab stops · alternative tabstop

  1. On a typewriter, any of the horizontal locations where the carriage movement is halted by mechanical gears.
  2. broadlycomputingA horizontal column in a text document to which the cursor jumps when the Tab key is pressed, used for alignment.
Cite this entry
APA

tab stop. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tab%20stop

MLA

“tab stop.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tab%20stop. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tab stop,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tab%20stop.

Source: tab stop on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.