plural noun
Informal.
- abdominal muscles.
ABS2American
- antilock braking system.
abs-3American
- variant of ab-.absent; abscond.
abs.4American
abbreviation
- absent.
- absolute.
- abstract.
A.B.S.5American
abbreviation
- American Bible Society.
- American Bureau of Shipping.
ABS1British
abbreviation
- acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene: any of a range of tough copolymers used esp for making moulded articles
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
abs2British
/ æbz /
plural noun
- informal abdominal muscles
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Etymology
Origin of abs
An Americanism dating back to 1980–85; by shortening
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
O’Malley said he tells his clients to get offline and “actually go out into the world,” where they can see with their own eyes that plenty of men have wives and girlfriends, despite not meeting the checklist of “six feet tall, six-figure income, six-pack abs.”
From Salon
At one point, Chet — mimicking Murray’s “Merry Gentlemen” striptease — tears off his tuxedo, and while baring his washboard abs, tries to save the day when Kate’s Christmas tree catches fire in homage to “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.”
From Los Angeles Times
The actor and former teen heartthrob is starring in his latest holiday film for Netflix, which required him to dance for hours while baring his abs for all.
From Los Angeles Times
Annual inflation measured in September alone rose 3.5%, the ABS said.
“Psychologically it has the same kind of tone of 10-minute abs,” Clare McCann, the managing director of policy and operations at the Postsecondary Education & Economics Research Center, said of short-term training programs.
From MarketWatch
Definitions and idiom definitions from NyongesaSande.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
« Back to dictionary
