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Article History

slab, In architecture, a flat, monolithic piece of stone or concrete used for a floor or roof. There are various forms of reinforced-concrete slabs: one-way slabs cast with supporting beams, ribbed slabs cast with series of joists, two-way ribbed slabs (known as waffle slabs), flat plates reinforced in two or more directions without beams or girders, and flat slabs thickened at column supports with drop panels and/or column capitals. A waffle slab supports loads equally well along both axes and is thus most efficiently used to cover square modules.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.