squab

English · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

squab

/ˈskwɒb/ UK
/ˈskwɑb/ US

Rhymes with -ɒb

Where it comes from

Unknown. Possibly related to dialectal Swedish skvabb (“fatty, flabby”). First attested in the 17th century.

noun squabs

attributive, countable, sometimes, uncountable A young dove or pigeon.
Similar: piper, squeaker
attributive, countable, sometimes, uncountable A young chicken.
Similar: chick
attributive, countable, sometimes, uncountable A young rook.
uncountable The meat of a young dove or pigeon, typically under four weeks old, used as food. Squab may be consumed by ripping the bird apart with your hands and sucking the meat from the bones.
countable A thick cushion, especially a flat one covering the seat of a chair or sofa. a. 1744, Alexander Pope (imitating Earl of Dorset), Artemisia, 1795, Robert Anderson (editor), A Complete Edition of the Poets of Great Britain, page 86, On her large ſquab you find her ſpread, / Like a fat corpſe upon a bed, / That lies and ſtinks in ſtate.
countable A person of a short, fat figure. Gorgonius sits abdominous and wan, / Like a fat squab upon a Chinese fan:

verb squabs · squabbing · squabbed

obsolete To fall plump; to strike at one dash, or with a heavy stroke.
transitive To furnish with squabs, or cushions.
transitive To stuff thickly and sew through, the stitches being concealed by buttons, etc.

adjective more squab · most squab

Fat; thick; plump; bulky. Nor the squab daughter nor the wife were nice.
Unfledged; unfeathered. broken limbs of trees, eggs, and young squab pigeons precipitated from above
Clumsy.
Curt; abrupt.
Shy; coy.

adverb

not comparable, slang With a heavy fall; plump. The eagle took the tortoise up into the air, and dropped him down, squab, upon a rock.

Translations

Every language

noun meat of a young dove or pigeon

Español	pichón
한국어	비둘기고기 bidulgigogi
中文	乳鴿肉 /乳鸽肉 rǔgēròu
Português	borracho
Français	pigeonneau
Deutsch	Täubchen, Täubchenfleisch
Ελληνικά	πιτσούνι pitsoúni
Русский	голубя́тина golubjátina
Tiếng Việt	thịt bồ câu

noun young dove or pigeon

Español	pichón, palomino
中文	乳鴿 /乳鸽 rǔgē
Português	borracho
Français	pigeonneau, colombeau, colombelle
Deutsch	Jungtaube, ungefiederte Jungtaube, Taubenküken, Taubenbaby
Ελληνικά	πιτσούνι pitsoúni
Русский	голубо́к golubók, голубёнок golubjónok, голу́бка golúbka
العربية	زُغْلُول zuḡlūl, جَوْزَل jawzal

noun young rook

Français	bébé corneille, bébé freux, petit de la corneille, petit du freux
Ελληνικά	νεοσσός τρυπανοκόρακα neossós trypanokóraka, νεογνό τρυπανοκόρακα neognó trypanokóraka

noun thick cushion

中文	墊子 /垫子 diànzi
Português	coxim
Ελληνικά	μαξιλάρα maxilára
Русский	поду́шка podúška

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"squab." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/squab. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

squab. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/squab

Chicago

"squab." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/squab.

BibTeX

@misc{squab_2026,
  title = {squab},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/squab},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}