What does daub mean?
Word: Daub
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Daub means to spread a thick, sticky substance such as paint or mud on something in a rough, careless way.
Synonyms: plaster
How do you spell daub?
Syllables: daub
Tricky part: The vowel sound is the one in saw, but it is not spelt like saw. Two vowels, au, write it here, so dawb is the usual slip.
Watch out for: dawb, daab
Memory tip: August and autumn write the same vowel sound with the same two letters, so think of painting a fence in August.
Daub in a sentence
Example 1: The twins began to daub blue paint on the garden wall.
Example 2: Workers daub the walls of the new hut with fresh clay.
Example 3: Please do not daub glue all over the chart paper.
Fun Fact
Builders have used wattle and daub for thousands of years, plastering clay or mud over woven sticks to make walls. The Latin word behind daub meant to whitewash.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word daubed as used in the sentence:
The toddlers daubed yellow paint across the old cardboard box.
a) smeared
b) measured
c) folded
d) carried
Show answer
a) smeared. To smear is to spread something sticky in an untidy way, as the toddlers did with the paint.
Word Cookie
One letter in this word is not needed. Find it:
daubb
a) a
b) b
c) u
d) d
Show answer
b) b. A single b closes this word.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
The art teacher showed us how to daub wet clay on the model hut, and the whole class was enthuziastic about the idea.
a) daub
b) whole
c) enthuziastic
d) model
Show answer
c) enthuziastic. Enthusiastic has an s, not a z, in the middle.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word here is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. easle 2. silhouet 3. daub 4. palete
a) a dark outline seen against a light background
b) to slap something on thickly and unevenly
c) a board on which an artist mixes colours
d) a stand that holds a painting
Show answer
b) to slap something on thickly and unevenly. Palette has a double t, easel ends in el, and silhouette ends in ette.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What would a person most likely use to do this with mud on a hut wall?
a) a thin pencil
b) a small needle
c) a steel ruler
d) bare hands
Show answer
d) bare hands
2. What does a critic suggest by saying a painter merely does this?
a) the work looks crude and unskilled
b) the colours are pale and thin
c) the canvas is very large
d) the work looks calm and gentle
Show answer
a) the work looks crude and unskilled
