Home US English rabbet

Definition of rabbet in English:

rabbet

noun

North American

  • A step-shaped recess cut along the edge or in the face of a piece of wood, typically forming a match to the edge or tongue of another piece.

    • ‘a rabbet joint’

Pronunciation

rabbet

/ˈrabət/ /ˈræbət/

transitive verbtransitive verb rabbets, transitive verb rabbeting, transitive verb rabbeted

[with object]North American

  • 1Make a rabbet in (a piece of wood).

    ‘Imagine getting a door slab, an unassembled door jamb, hinges and door hardware and having to do all the mortising, drilling, rabbeting on site.’
    • ‘Of course, the miter and lap could be made by rabbeting and making the 45 degree cut with a shoulder plane.’
    • ‘A neater and stronger solution was to rabbet the drawer sides to accept both the drawer bottom and the runners.’
    • ‘It would be a mistake to rabbet the edge first: the fence would have no surface to guide it for subsequent cuts.’
    1. 1.1with object Join or fix (a piece of wood) to another with a rabbet.

Pronunciation

rabbet

/ˈrabət/ /ˈræbət/

Origin

Late Middle English from Old French rabbat ‘abatement, recess’.