tab - technical definition

(1) To move the cursor on a display screen or the print head on a printer to a specified column (the tab stop). Pressing the Tab key on a keyboard moves the screen cursor horizontally to the right. Pressing Shift-Tab moves it to the left. However, in the ASCII character set, there are codes for both horizontal and vertical tabs. See tab stop.

(2) A small flap used for quick access that projects out from the end of a page or file folder. The on-screen equivalent is clicked to display a dialog for the user. See tabbed browsing.

(3) (TAB) See tape automated bonding.