noun
hab
noun
1
Informal shorthand for a habitation module or living structure, especially in space travel or off-grid settings.
"The astronauts sealed the airlock and retreated to the hab before the dust storm hit."
"They built a small hab out of shipping containers on the edge of the property."
2
Informal nickname for a player on the Montreal Canadiens ice hockey team.
"The Habs need a big performance tonight to force a game seven."
How to Use Hab
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA short, casual word — either a basic living shelter, or (capitalized, usually plural "Habs") a Montreal Canadiens player/fan term.
When to use it
Very informal; "hab" for housing shows up mostly in sci-fi, survivalist, and space-exploration contexts, while "Habs" is standard hockey slang in Canada.
Word Forms
habs plural, Habs plural
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.
Test yourself on “hab”
A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage
→
Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
The astronauts sealed the airlock and retreated to the _____ before the dust storm hit.
Etymology
A clipped form of "habitation" (for the housing sense) and of "Habitants," an old nickname for French-Canadian settlers, later shortened to "Habs" for the Montreal Canadiens.