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.
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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
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Sign up for our free daily newsletter for the latest hacks, expert advice, and more!—
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According to West Singhbhum Deputy Commissioner Chandan Kumar, officials are also working to help people in nearby villages relocate while wildlife experts attempt to track down the elephant.—
Noun
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Residents in a Stockton zip code have reported their mail is being stolen and worry someone may have access to the master postal key.—
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She was allowed to study there in her fifth year of college basketball because CU’s Boulder campus does not offer a master’s in criminal justice.—
Noun
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The museum, focused on the arts, history and technology, will draw tourists and scholars from around the world.—
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Other industries also had their assets taken away under Chávez's 14-year reign, and companies have filed at least 60 arbitration claims against Venezuela since the 2000s, according to Luisa Palacios, an adjunct senior research scholar at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy.—
Noun
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For Sanders, the challenge will be balancing aggression and prudence , avoiding turnovers against a defense adept at disguising coverage, while still pushing the ball deep enough to challenge a typically conservative Browns offense.—
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But if the destination is appealing and the driver adept, the journey is bound to be worth taking.—
Noun
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Who were the ad wizards who came up with that one?—
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This wizard doesn’t even use a curtain.—
Noun
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The actors will deliver quotes from the artists, thereby giving viewers a better understanding of the process and struggles of artists, Challis Davy said.—
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Her lips shine, too, with an ombré look in tawny brown hues, an effect created by makeup artist Bella Mayven with Charlotte Tilbury's Lip Cheat pencil in Foxy Brown and Big Lip Plumpgasm gloss in Nudegasm Diamonds.—
Noun
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They were accompanied by vocal virtuosos Lucius and blues-rock rippers Judith Hill and Eric Krasno, each fixtures in the local music community trying to rebuild itself in the wake of the Eaton fire.—
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Geese, a quartet of young rock virtuosos from Brooklyn, capture the vibe shift in freaky fidelity.—
Noun
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Additionally, the annual flurry of economic gurus’ 2026 forecasts offered little fuel for hope, compounding this sense of uncertainty.—
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The fashion guru typically rocks her tried-and-true ashy blonde, occasionally opting for highlights and/or lowlights.—
Cite this Entry
“Dab hand.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dab%20hand. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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