5 PHRASE If someone keeps tabs on you, they make sure that they always know where you are and what you are doing, often in order to control you. [INFORMAL ]
6 PHRASE If you pick up the tab , you pay a bill on behalf of a group of people or provide the money that is needed for something. [INFORMAL ] □ Pollard picked up the tab for dinner that night.
Ta|bas|co /tæbæ skoʊ/ N‑UNCOUNT Tabasco is a hot spicy sauce made from peppers. [TRADEMARK ]
tab|by /tæ bi/ (tabbies ) N‑COUNT A tabby or a tabby cat is a cat whose fur has dark stripes on a lighter background.
tab|er|nac|le /tæ bə r næk ə l/ (tabernacles )
1 N‑COUNT [oft in names] A tabernacle is a church used by certain Christian Protestant groups and by Mormons.
2 N‑PROPER The Tabernacle was a small tent which contained the most holy writings of the ancient Jews and which they took with them when they were travelling.
ta|ble ◆◆◇ /te I b ə l/ (tables , tabling , tabled )
1 N‑COUNT A table is a piece of furniture with a flat top that you put things on or sit at. □ She was sitting at the kitchen table eating a currant bun. □ I placed his drink on the small table at his elbow.
2 VERB If someone tables a proposal, they say formally that they want it to be discussed at a meeting. [mainly BRIT ] □ [V n] They've tabled a motion criticising the Government for doing nothing about the problem.
3 VERB If someone tables a proposal or plan which has been put forward, they decide to discuss it or deal with it at a later date, rather than straight away. [AM ] □ [V n] We will table that for later.
4 N‑COUNT A table is a written set of facts and figures arranged in columns and rows. □ Consult the table on page 104. □ Other research supports the figures in Table 3.3.
5 → see also coffee table , dressing table , negotiating table , round table , tea table
6 PHRASE If you put something on the table , you present it at a meeting for it to be discussed. □ This is one of the best packages we've put on the table in years.
7 PHRASE If you turn the tables on someone, you change the situation completely, so that instead of them causing problems for you, you are causing problems for them. □ The only question is whether the President can use his extraordinary political skills to turn the tables on his opponents.
8 to put your cards on the table → see card SYNONYMS table NOUN 1
counter: We were sitting on stools at the counter having coffee.
bench: …the laboratory bench.
stand: She bought a hot dog from a stand on a street corner.
tab|leau /tæ bloʊ/ (tableaux )
1 N‑COUNT A tableau is a scene, for example from the Bible, history, or mythology, that consists of a group of people in costumes who do not speak or move. The people are sometimes on a float in a procession. □ …tableaux depicting the foundation of Barcelona.
2 N‑COUNT A tableau is a piece of art such as a sculpture or painting that shows a scene, especially one from the Bible, history, or mythology. □ …Gaudi's luxuriant stone tableau of the Nativity on the cathedral's east face.
table|cloth /te I b ə lklɒθ, [AM ] -klɔːθ/ (tablecloths ) N‑COUNT A tablecloth is a cloth used to cover a table.
ta |ble danc|ing N‑UNCOUNT Table dancing is a type of entertainment in a bar or club in which a woman who is wearing very few clothes dances in a sexy way close to a customer or group of customers.
ta |ble lamp (table lamps ) N‑COUNT A table lamp is a small electric lamp which stands on a table or other piece of furniture.
ta |ble man|ners N‑PLURAL You can use table manners to refer to the way you behave when you are eating a meal at a table. □ He attacked the food as quickly as decent table manners allowed.
table|spoon /te I b ə lspuːn/ (tablespoons )
1 N‑COUNT A tablespoon is a fairly large spoon used for serving food and in cooking.
2 N‑COUNT You can refer to an amount of food resting on a tablespoon as a tablespoon of food. □ [+ of ] …a tablespoon of sugar.
table|spoon|ful /te I b ə lspuːnfʊl/ (tablespoonfuls or tablespoonsful ) N‑COUNT You can refer to an amount of food resting on a tablespoon as a tablespoonful of food. □ [+ of ] Grate a tablespoonful of fresh ginger into a pan.
tab|let /tæ blət/ (tablets )
1 N‑COUNT [oft n N ] A tablet is a small solid round mass of medicine which you swallow. □ It is never a good idea to take sleeping tablets regularly.
2 N‑COUNT A tablet is a small flat computer that you operate by touching the screen. [COMPUTING ] □ …a free guide to the best tablets on the market.
3 N‑COUNT [oft n N ] Clay tablets or stone tablets are the flat pieces of clay or stone which people used to write on before paper was invented.
4 tablets of stone → see stone
ta |ble ten|nis also table-tennis N‑UNCOUNT Table tennis is a game played inside by two or four people. The players stand at each end of a table which has a low net across the middle and hit a small light ball over the net, using small bats.
ta |ble top (table tops ) also tabletop N‑COUNT A table top is the flat surface on a table.