Ab

Pronunciation

• IPA: /æb/
• Rhymes: -æb

Abbreviation of abdominal muscles.

Full definition of ab

Noun

1. (informal) abdominal muscle. Mid 20^th century.

• 2006, H. Peter Steeves, The Things Themselves (page 75)The bikinied models in most of the ESPN2 shows have abs. Many of the malnourished bikinied models in the commercials have visible rib cages. How did the two get conflated into a shared vision of beauty?
• 2010, Bill Geiger, "6-pack Abs in 9 Weeks", Reps! 17:106When possible, do your ab workout on a day when you're not training a major muscle group....

Usage notes

Most often used attributively. Substantive use is more common in the plural form abs.

Abbreviation of abscess.

Noun

1. (slang) An abscess caused by injecting an illegal drug, usually heroin.

Abbreviations, see definitions.

{{abbreviation-old|en}}

abbreviation

1. abort or abortion
2. about

From the spelling books and the fact that it was the first of the letter combinations.

Mathews, Mitford M, ed. A Dictionary of Americanisms on Historical Principles. 1st. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1956.

Noun

1. (US) The early stages of; the beginning process; the start.

Anagrams

• ba, BA