as in expert
a person with a high level of knowledge or skill in a field
a British mystery writer who's an undisputed dab hand at building suspense
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Recent Examples of dab hand
The actor and director remains a dab hand at occasion dressing.
—
Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 13 Sep. 2025
All of which curious George, a dab hand at psychological manipulation, coaxes along with the gentlest of nudges.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2025
Van Norden, a dab hand with Shakespeare, is a natural for Shaw.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2024
Zach is a dab hand at herbal knockout potions and the occasional amateur amputation, and there’s a scene featuring the latter in which Wheatley indulges his twin tastes for deadpan comedy and head-on gross-outs to the extreme.
—BostonGlobe.com, 14 Apr. 2021
In addition to the outfits of the characters in her famous self-portraits, American artist Cindy Sherman is also a dab hand at finds for herself.
—Lily Templeton, WWD, 3 Sep. 2019
Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 13 Sep. 2025
All of which curious George, a dab hand at psychological manipulation, coaxes along with the gentlest of nudges.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2025
Van Norden, a dab hand with Shakespeare, is a natural for Shaw.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2024
Zach is a dab hand at herbal knockout potions and the occasional amateur amputation, and there’s a scene featuring the latter in which Wheatley indulges his twin tastes for deadpan comedy and head-on gross-outs to the extreme.
—BostonGlobe.com, 14 Apr. 2021
In addition to the outfits of the characters in her famous self-portraits, American artist Cindy Sherman is also a dab hand at finds for herself.
—Lily Templeton, WWD, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dab hand
Noun
-
The federal gas tax has also remained unchanged since 1993, which experts say has already eroded the Highway Trust Fund’s purchasing power when accounting for inflation.—
Wyatte Grantham-Philips,
Chicago Tribune,
14 May 2026
-
But legal experts say Uber’s proposal to cap attorney compensation — which would apply to all car accident cases, not just those involving rideshare vehicles — risks shutting poor people who can’t afford to pay a lawyer up front out of courthouses.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
13 May 2026
Noun
-
Tremendously fierce to everyone and everything except each other and their master.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 May 2026
-
Now that she’s graduated with her business degree, the mom of four is planning on going back to school for her master’s in the fall.—
Sam Gillette,
PEOPLE,
19 May 2026
Noun
-
Michael Socolow, a media scholar and a professor of communication and journalism at the University of Maine, joins The Excerpt to share his insights.—
Dana Taylor,
USA Today,
13 May 2026
-
As reading scores tumbled over the past decade, parents, scholars and literacy advocates pushed for teaching methods that align with decades of research about how kids learn to read — largely by sounding out words.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
13 May 2026
Noun
-
Tech pioneer adept at shifting gears Atom Power was co-founded in 2015 by Kouroussis and Ryan Kennedy as a UNC Charlotte incubator, a project that started at the college before spinning off its own company and moving to the Lake Norman area.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Meanwhile, Alouette has become an adept of dye recipes.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The brick-and-mortar Harbaugh gets to face off against scheme wizard Sean McVay.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
16 May 2026
-
Since co-founding Vampire Weekend 20 years ago and producing the band’s first three albums, Rostam Batmanglij has enjoyed a unique profile as a pop songwriter and studio wizard, especially for a guy whose sound never really left his old band’s highbrow sensibilities behind.—
Jon Dolan,
Rolling Stone,
14 May 2026
Noun
-
For the cover of the May 25, 2026, issue, the artist Kadir Nelson decided to paint a tribute to the city’s budding artists.—
Françoise Mouly,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
The question turned into an accidental personality test, exposing some of each artist’s values.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
18 May 2026
Noun
-
Moore is a multiaward-winning saxophone player, and Wheeler is a Grammy-winning producer, composer and keyboard virtuoso.—
Hema Sivanandam,
Mercury News,
18 May 2026
-
To call a musician a virtuoso can be double-edged.—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
April’s numbers – bosses added 115,000 workers, adjusted for seasonal swings – were seen by many economic gurus as a surprising increase amid a war with Iran and its resulting ballooning energy costs.—
Jonathan Lansner,
Oc Register,
18 May 2026
-
The film premiered in Cannes, outside the official selection, just a few days after Lennon and McCartney had used their appearance on The Johnny Carson Show to distance themselves from their former guru, the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
16 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dab hand.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dab%20hand. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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