daub
1 of 2verb
ˈdȯb 
ˈdäb
daubed; daubing; daubs
transitive verb
1
: to cover or coat with soft adhesive matter : plaster
2
: to coat with a dirty substance
3
a
: to apply coloring material crudely to
b
: to apply (something, such as paint) crudely
intransitive verb
1
archaic : to put on a false exterior
2
: to apply colors crudely
daub
2 of 2noun
1
: material used to daub walls
2
: an act or instance of daubing
3
: something daubed on : smear
4
: a crude picture
Synonyms
Verb
- befoul
- begrime
- bemire
- besmirch
- blacken
- dirty
- distain [archaic]
- foul
- gaum [dialect]
- grime
- mire
- muck
- muddy
- smirch
- smudge
- soil
- stain
- sully
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Verb He daubed some cologne on his neck. Daub the potatoes with a little butter. Various political slogans had been daubed on the walls. He sighed deeply and daubed his eyes with a tissue. Noun She added a few daubs of color to the painting.
Recent Examples on the Web
Sara Netzley, EW.com, 26 Mar. 2022 In that way, Mitski creates a musical liminal space where every ballad has a bit of shimmer and every dance tune brims with tears, and blue-gray tones daub throughout both sides. Lior Phillips, Variety, 4 Feb. 2022 Wow’s Dream Coat and daub of volumizing foam before going in with a round brush and curling iron. Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 10 Sep. 2021 Visitors queued for gobs of mineral mud to daub on faces and arms. Washington Post, 19 Aug. 2021 With the paintbrush, daub a pattern onto your cards. Sophie Bushwick, Popular Science, 21 Dec. 2020 According to Diana’s wedding day makeup artist, Barbara Daly, the bride spilled Quelques Fleurs perfume on her dress while attempting to daub the scent onto her wrists. Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Nov. 2020 The range is mind-boggling: a sweet potato and coffee marmalade from Taiwan sat alongside a lime glitter marmalade, which looked like something a teenage girl would daub on her eyelids. Olivia Potts, Longreads, 10 Aug. 2020 Residents built their houses out of wood lattices daubed with earth. National Geographic, 12 May 2020 Venita Blackburn, Harper's Magazine, 20 July 2021 And the dark brown fellow with the daub of white between his eyes is Little Mike, one of the premier grass runners of the past decade. Smithsonian Magazine, 10 May 2020 And the dark brown fellow with the daub of white between his eyes is Little Mike, one of the premier grass runners of the past decade. Smithsonian Magazine, 10 May 2020 And the dark brown fellow with the daub of white between his eyes is Little Mike, one of the premier grass runners of the past decade. Smithsonian Magazine, 10 May 2020 And the dark brown fellow with the daub of white between his eyes is Little Mike, one of the premier grass runners of the past decade. Smithsonian Magazine, 10 May 2020 And the dark brown fellow with the daub of white between his eyes is Little Mike, one of the premier grass runners of the past decade. Smithsonian Magazine, 10 May 2020 And the dark brown fellow with the daub of white between his eyes is Little Mike, one of the premier grass runners of the past decade. Smithsonian Magazine, 10 May 2020 And the dark brown fellow with the daub of white between his eyes is Little Mike, one of the premier grass runners of the past decade. Smithsonian Magazine, 10 May 2020 See More
Verb
Edwina's radiant with joy as Mary and Kate daub her with the turmeric paste. Sara Netzley, EW.com, 26 Mar. 2022 In that way, Mitski creates a musical liminal space where every ballad has a bit of shimmer and every dance tune brims with tears, and blue-gray tones daub throughout both sides. Lior Phillips, Variety, 4 Feb. 2022 Wow’s Dream Coat and daub of volumizing foam before going in with a round brush and curling iron. Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 10 Sep. 2021 Visitors queued for gobs of mineral mud to daub on faces and arms. Washington Post, 19 Aug. 2021 With the paintbrush, daub a pattern onto your cards. Sophie Bushwick, Popular Science, 21 Dec. 2020 According to Diana’s wedding day makeup artist, Barbara Daly, the bride spilled Quelques Fleurs perfume on her dress while attempting to daub the scent onto her wrists. Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Nov. 2020 The range is mind-boggling: a sweet potato and coffee marmalade from Taiwan sat alongside a lime glitter marmalade, which looked like something a teenage girl would daub on her eyelids. Olivia Potts, Longreads, 10 Aug. 2020 Residents built their houses out of wood lattices daubed with earth. National Geographic, 12 May 2020 Noun
Mama’s makeup had blended well over the hours, turning her face into a daub of peanut butter. Venita Blackburn, Harper's Magazine, 20 July 2021 And the dark brown fellow with the daub of white between his eyes is Little Mike, one of the premier grass runners of the past decade. Smithsonian Magazine, 10 May 2020 And the dark brown fellow with the daub of white between his eyes is Little Mike, one of the premier grass runners of the past decade. Smithsonian Magazine, 10 May 2020 And the dark brown fellow with the daub of white between his eyes is Little Mike, one of the premier grass runners of the past decade. Smithsonian Magazine, 10 May 2020 And the dark brown fellow with the daub of white between his eyes is Little Mike, one of the premier grass runners of the past decade. Smithsonian Magazine, 10 May 2020 And the dark brown fellow with the daub of white between his eyes is Little Mike, one of the premier grass runners of the past decade. Smithsonian Magazine, 10 May 2020 And the dark brown fellow with the daub of white between his eyes is Little Mike, one of the premier grass runners of the past decade. Smithsonian Magazine, 10 May 2020 And the dark brown fellow with the daub of white between his eyes is Little Mike, one of the premier grass runners of the past decade. Smithsonian Magazine, 10 May 2020 See More Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English, from Anglo-French dauber
First Known Use
Verb
14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1
Noun
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing daub
Kids Definition
daub 1 of 2
verb
ˈdȯb
daubed; daubing
: to cover with something soft and sticky
I daubed the wound with ointment.
daub
2 of 2noun
: a small amount of something
The child left daubs of paint on the easel.
daub 1 of 2
verb
1
as in to stain
to make dirty a tablecloth daubed with too many spills to ignore any longer Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- stain
- smudge
- dirty
- blacken
- muck
- mess
- soil
- besmirch
- sully
- smirch
- grime
- muddy
- mire
- gaum
- foul
- befoul
- bemire
- contaminate
- distain
- taint
- begrime
- pollute
- disarrange
- jumble
- discolor
- defile
- colly
- muddle
- disorder
- draggle
- dishevel
- disarray
- crock
- confuse
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- clean
- cleanse
- wipe
- brush
- scrub
- decontaminate
- wash
- purge
- purify
- mop
- sweep
- disinfect
- rinse
- dust
- sanitize
- scour
- renew
- launder
- brighten
- freshen
- spruce (up)
- deodorize
- straighten (up)
- dry-clean
- tidy (up)
2
as in to smear
to rub an oily or sticky substance over he begins his nightly transformation into a circus clown by daubing greasepaint on his face Synonyms & Similar Words
- smear
- paint
- coat
- plaster
- besmear
- anoint
- stain
- bedaub
- smudge
- oil
- tar
- grease
- dirty
- lard
- muck
- gum
- soil
- smirch
- sully
- grime
- blacken
- besmirch
- muddy
- foul
- mire
- gaum
- befoul
- pitch
- bemire
- begrime
daub
2 of 2noun
as in drawing
Synonyms & Similar Words
- drawing
- portrait
- doodle
- watercolor
- sketch
- etching
- finger painting
- caricature
- collage
- resemblance
- hieroglyphic
- silhouette
- depiction
- photograph
- representation
- ikon
- hieroglyph
- cartoon
- ideogram
- image
- ideograph
- delineation
- view
- likeness
- pictograph
- picture
- montage
- icon
- illustration
- diagram