What does fab mean?
Fab is an informal adjective meaning fabulous — that is, extremely good, enjoyable, or impressive. It arose in twentieth-century British English as a casual shortening of "fabulous," a word that gained enormous popularity during the Swinging Sixties, when abbreviated, playful vocabulary became fashionable. Today it remains a staple of everyday conversation, especially in Britain, where people describe everything from outfits to holidays as "absolutely fab." The word carries a warm, enthusiastic connotation and signals informality: it suits speech, texting, and light journalism, but not formal writing. Grammatically it behaves like any ordinary adjective, appearing most often after a linking verb ("dinner was fab") rather than before a noun. Its enduring appeal lies in its brevity and cheerfulness — one punchy syllable that delivers wholehearted approval without any pretension, making it a handy word for anyone who wants to sound upbeat and natural.
adjectiveFabulous; extremely good or impressive. An informal, chiefly British shortening used as an enthusiastic expression of approval.
- (informal) Extremely good; fabulous.
"The party was absolutely fab — everyone stayed until midnight dancing."
"You look fab in that dress!"
"We had a fab weekend by the coast."
Fab is the Swinging Sixties in a single syllable — a clipped bit of 1960s British slang that never quite went out of fashion.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of fab
Fab is a clipped form of "fabulous," which itself comes from the Latin fabulosus, meaning "celebrated in fable," from fabula ("a story or tale"), derived from the verb fari ("to speak"). The shortening emerged in mid-twentieth-century British slang and became especially associated with 1960s popular culture. It shares this deep Latin root with words such as fable, ineffable, and confabulate, all of which trace back to speaking or storytelling.
How fab is actually used
Informal and conversational; common in British English though understood everywhere. It carries a cheerful, upbeat tone but would be out of place in formal writing. It functions mainly predicatively ('the show was fab') and is often intensified with 'absolutely' or 'totally'.
Easily confused with fab
"Flab" means loose body fat, while "fab" is an informal term meaning fabulous or excellent.