Meanings
plural tabnabs
- NavyUKslangA small item of food offered at break times, normally the morning break.
He comes outside when weather's fine / To hang his singlets on the line, / And then returns - he needs no bell - / The scouse, or Sunday's duff to share; / The stokers tabnabs need his care; / The sea sounds far away in there, / Ssssssssh, like the hush in a conch-shell.
1928, Malcolm Lowry, “The Cook In The Gallery”, in The Collected Poetry of Malcolm Lowry, UBC Press, published 1992, page 39
Origin
Nautical slang of obscure origin. Attested from the 20th century. Compare nab and possibly table.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
tabnab. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tabnab
“tabnab.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tabnab. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tabnab,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tabnab.
Source: tabnab on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.