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to open a new tab

to open a new tab

1 2.3
To create a new browser tab so you can view another web page without leaving the current page
  • phrasal verb
  • Texting
translation icon : abrir una nueva pestaña
  • I right-clicked on the $5 card offer and chose to open a new tab in my browser, then got the $5 Starbucks card.
  • click to open a new tab
  • open a link in a new tab

Examples

  • The best thing I've found to do is to right-click, open in a new tab, and it'll show up next to the current tab.

    Blog text (7)
  • The "one click" Forms web app opens a new browser tab filled with a blank form.

    Blog text (7)
  • Please note you can make any of these photos larger by opening them in a new tab.

    Blog text (9)
  • Please note you can make any of these photos larger by opening them in a new tab.

    Blog text (9)
  • So let's go ahead and open up a new tab we want, let's just say Engadget.

  • Open a new blank tab (Control T, 5-finger tab).

    Blog text (7)
  • The best thing I've found to do is to right-click, open in a new tab, and it'll show up next to the current tab.

    Blog text (7)
  • Editors' note: This article is very footnote heavy, and in an attempt to make checking references easier, we have put the footnotes in a separate "article" that you can open in a new tab and go back and forth without losing your spot in the article.

    Blog text (26)
  • I don't think I've ever commented on your blog, although whenever I see your lengthy posts and know I don't have enough immediate time, I open a new tab just for the story and make my way through it eventually.

    Blog text (9)
  • To open a new tab, click on the plus sign next to your current tabs in the browser.

How Accessible

to keep a tab open
  • Texting
3.2
to open a new tab
  • Texting
1 2.3
to log on
  • Texting
55 3.0
to bookmark
  • Texting
22 2.4

Surface Forms

open a new tab infinitive

Morphology

open + a + new + tab

The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'open' (make accessible) + 'new' (recently created) + 'tab' (a browser page), so the phrase literally means to create/access a newly created browser tab. This follows a standard verb + noun construction and the UI sense of 'tab' is a transparent, commonly taught technical term, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily understand it.

Etymology

Open a new tab comes from the image of paper folders with little tabs; to open a tab is like adding a new divider so you can start a fresh page while the old one stays visible. So, it means 'to create a new tab' in a web browser to look at another 'web page' without leaving the current one.