abs

plural noun

Informal.

1. abdominal muscles.

ABS²American  

1. antilock braking system.

abs-³American  

1. variant of ab-.absent; abscond.

abs.⁴American  

abbreviation

1. absent.
2. absolute.
3. abstract.

A.B.S.⁵American  

abbreviation

1. American Bible Society.
2. American Bureau of Shipping.

ABS¹British  

abbreviation

1. 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

1. 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.

From The Wall Street Journal

“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.