Meaning & use
gabber
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableinformal
A person who talks a great deal, usually about unimportant things.
Grammar: Counts as a normal noun: a gabber, two gabbers.
Patterns
- a real gabber
- the office gabber
My uncle is such a gabber that a five-minute visit turns into an afternoon.
Don't sit next to Priya on the bus unless you like a gabber.
The barber was a famous gabber, and customers came as much for the chat as the haircut.
nouncountable or uncountablemusicspecialist
A very fast, hard style of electronic dance music that began in the Netherlands, or a fan of it.
Grammar: Uncountable for the music (listen to gabber), countable for a fan (a gabber).
Patterns
- gabber music
- a gabber party
The club played nothing but gabber until sunrise.
He first heard gabber on a cassette a friend brought back from Rotterdam.
Gabber tracks often run at far above 150 beats per minute.
Word forms
| plural | gabbers |
|---|
Common combinations
- a notorious gabber
- Our neighbor is a notorious gabber and never lets you leave quickly.
- an incurable gabber
- She is an incurable gabber who chats with every stranger in the queue.
- gabber music
- Gabber music is too relentless for me to study to.
- a gabber festival
- They traveled across Europe to a gabber festival.
- a gabber at heart
- Under his quiet manner he is a gabber at heart.
Synonyms and how they differ
- chatterbox
- Chatterbox sounds affectionate and is often used for children, while gabber can sound slightly more critical.
- windbag
- Windbag is harsher and suggests the talk is empty and boastful, which gabber does not necessarily imply.
- talker
- Talker is neutral and can even be praise, whereas gabber suggests too much talk.
- blabbermouth
- Blabbermouth implies someone who reveals secrets, a meaning gabber lacks.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: gabber or grabber?
gabber vs grabber
A grabber takes hold of things or attention; a gabber is someone who talks. The two words sound close but differ in the first letter.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'gabber' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A gabber talks a lot, so a short hello turning into half an hour fits. The first option contradicts the meaning because a gabber would not sit silent, and the others have nothing to do with talking.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “gabber”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.