keep tabs on something/someone

tab | American Dictionary

tab
noun[ C ]
us/tæb/

tabnoun[C] (SMALL PIECE)

a small piece of material on a box, can, or container that is pulled to open it
A tab is also a small piece of paper or plastic attached to a paper or file so it can be found easily.

tabnoun[C] (AMOUNT CHARGED)

an amount charged for a service or for a meal in a restaurant:
He offered to pick up the tab for lunch (= pay for it).

tab | Business English

tab
noun[ C ]
uk /tæb/us
a small piece of paper, metal, or cloth that is attached to the edge of something:
The metal tabs at one end are where the wires fasten.
IT, INTERNET
a small symbol on a website that gives you information about the different pages you can open on that website:
Move between pages by clicking on the tabs at the top of the screen.
IT (alsotab stop)
a fixed position on a line of text that you are writing on a computer, etc. that can be reached by pressing the tab key
informal
the amount of money that is charged for something:
The committee will reimburse the state $70,000 of the $105,000 tab for a recent trade mission to Ireland.
The tab to clean up the mess caused by the oil spill has already hit $9 million.
pick up the tab (for sth)The state picks up the health care tab for many low-income clients.
pay the tab (for sth)Pharmaceutical companies pay most of the tab for the trials.
a record of what you have ordered or used but not yet paid for, especially in a bar or restaurant:
put sth on the/your tabJust put it on the tab, please.
on sb's tabI ordered drinks for everyone, even though this was all going on my tab.
They were put up in hotels on the state's tab.
tab
verb[ T,usually passive ]
uk /tæb/us
to think or say that someone or something should have a particular job or use:
tab sb to do sthHe was tabbed to restore glory and dignity to USA Basketball.
tab sb as sthThe CEO unofficially tabbed him as his successor.
tab sb/sth for sthShe was tabbed for a seat on the Board.
to put tabs on something:
tab sth with sthThere was a stack of mail-order catalogues tabbed with sticky labels.

Examples of tab

tab
To formalise the problem we have to interpret the phrase 'replaces blanks with tabs where possible'.
By 2004 ravers themselves will be picking up the tab, a development which will surely reduce significantly the already dwindling appeal of the event.
This was publicly displayed by a uniform with an orange flash shoulder tab.
A user can view and specify formulas by clicking on the formula tabs attached to the bottom right of each cell.
A formula tab has been left visible to show where the user is expected to provide an input formula.
But for major changes involving the whole stage the tabs had to come down.
In the following figures, the two tabs that manage the application can be seen.
If a new agent joins the system, a new tab is dynamically added to the view.
In order to distinguish the phonemes in "bat" and "tab," it is necessary to postulate that not phonemes, but phonemes-in-context are the elements of representation.
The % signs mark holes that are to be instantiated; the marks $t (tab) and $b (backtab) are escape sequences that control prettyprinting.
In brief, the problem was to replace sequences of blanks in a file by tab characters wherever possible.
Most programming languages have a set of layout rules, which specify how whitespace (spaces, tabs, and newlines) may be used to improve readability.
By means of this tab, the user can move the arm indicating the relative movement of each joint.
Among other nifty nuances are four different formats for underlining: everything including tab gaps, nothing but alphanumerics, and two intermediary increments.
But one thing is certain: constantly up-dated online dictionaries can provide a fascinating way to keep tabs on what words currently whet our curiosity.
See all examples of tab
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.