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Rabbet
A rabbet is a recess or groove cut into the edge of a piece of material, usually wood; in framing it is the channel that holds the contents.
Rabbet, schematic. Shapes are drawn for illustration.
What the sources say
| Point | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Spelling | Rabbet is the North American spelling; rebate is the British form | Wikipedia |
| Framing | The L-shaped channel at the back inner edge of the moulding holds glazing, mat, art and backing | Custom Picture Frames |
| Shelf | It works as a shelf holding the glazing, and also holds spacers, mats and backing | Wikipedia (Picture frame) |
| Hiding edges | It may hide uneven or poor edges of the painting and its support | Wikipedia |
| Depth | Rabbet depth runs from the back of the lip to the back surface of the rabbet; shadow boxes need much deeper rabbets | Custom Picture Frames |
For wall art
Rabbet depth tells you how many layers a frame can hold, which matters when you add a mat or thick backing.
Where the sources stop
The depth description comes from a framing company and we did not verify numeric depths, so use the definition only. Wikipedia says rebate and rabbet are pronounced alike.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Rabbet (fetched 2026-11-12)
- Custom Picture Frames: frame anatomy glossary (company guide) (fetched 2026-11-12)
- Wikipedia: Picture frame (fetched 2026-11-12)
Figures from these pages are paraphrased; each page was fetched and read on 2026-11-12. Where two sources differ, both are shown.