Swab Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

English Language Learners Definition of swab ... : a small piece of soft material sometimes on the end of a small stick that is used for applying medicine, ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut swab noun SaveWord \ˈswäb \ Definitionofswab (Entry1of2) 1a :mop especially :ayarnmop b(1) :awadofabsorbentmaterialusuallywoundaroundoneendofasmallstickandusedespeciallyforapplyingmedicationorforremovingmaterialfromanarea (2) :aspecimentakenwithaswab c :aspongeorclothpatchattachedtoalonghandleandusedtocleantheboreofafirearm 2a :auselessorcontemptibleperson b :sailor,gob swab verb swabbed;swabbing Definitionofswab (Entry2of2) transitiveverb 1 :tocleanwithorasifwithaswab 2 :toapplymedicationtowithaswab swabbedthewoundwithiodine Synonyms MoreExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutswab Synonymsforswab Synonyms:Noun gob, hearty, jack, jack-tar, mariner, navigator, sailor, salt, seadog, seafarer, seaman, shipman, swabbie (alsoswabby) [slang], tar VisittheThesaurusforMore  ExamplesofswabinaSentence Noun Useacottonswabdippedinalcoholtodisinfectthearea. Thedoctortookathroatswabandsentittothelab. Verb Thenurseswabbedthecutwithadisinfectant. SeeMore RecentExamplesontheWeb:Noun Justscoopoutalittlebitoftheointmentonacottonswabandthengentlyapplyitrightonanyblemish,leavingitonfor10to20minutesbeforewashingitoffwithwater. — JihanForbes,Allure,2Oct.2021 Justdipacottonswabinrubbingalcoholandlightlyrubthestaintowipeawaythemarks. — LaurenSmithMcdonough,GoodHousekeeping,29Mar.2021 AlongwithacottonswabandBand-Aid,thesepatientswillreceiveafactsheetwithasmallblack-and-whitelabel. — WashingtonPost,7Dec.2020 AccordingtotheNoseyPupwebsite,acottonswabisscentedwithatargetodorandisthenplacedinacontainer,whichthedogthensearchesfor. — CathyKozlowicz,MilwaukeeJournalSentinel,1Dec.2020 Thentheswabisjoinedwithateststripandaliquidreagent. — KarenKaplanScienceAndMedicineEditor,LosAngelesTimes,19Nov.2021 Theswabtraversesadarkpassagethatleadstothenasalcavity. — NewYorkTimes,18Nov.2021 Eachstudentintheclassroomswabstheinsideoftheirownnosesandputstheswabinacupwiththeirclassmates’samples. — LizBowie,baltimoresun.com,6Oct.2021 Thiswasaftertheswabwasinserteduptheman’snoseandnotanywhereloweronhisbody. — BruceY.Lee,Forbes,1Oct.2021 RecentExamplesontheWeb:Verb Thelastone,inMay2020,hadChrisCuomowieldingagiantcottontestswabwhilepokingfunatthegovernor. — StephenBattaglioStaffWriter,LosAngelesTimes,5Dec.2021 ParentsmustbeawarethatanegativeCovidswabinanillchildisn’tpermissiontosendthechildtoschool. — WSJ,28Nov.2021 Evensuper-sensitive,super-specifictestscanspitoutmoreerrorswhenthey’remishandled,orwhenpeopleswabthemselvessloppily. — KatherineJ.Wu,TheAtlantic,23Nov.2021 CrimesceneinvestigatorstookthejacktoswabforDNA,thedocumentssaid. — TaylorPettaway,SanAntonioExpress-News,22Nov.2021 Theteststypicallyrequireyoutoswabtheinsideofbothnostrilstogatherasuitablesample. — KarenKaplanScienceAndMedicineEditor,LosAngelesTimes,19Nov.2021 Theover-the-countertestrequiresconsumerstoswabtheinsideoftheirnoses. — AimeePicchi,CBSNews,11Nov.2021 Seriallyadministeringantigentestsisgreat;soisscoringano-orlow-costPCRswabatacommunitysite,ifthere’stimetowaitforresults. — KatherineJ.Wu,TheAtlantic,10Nov.2021 Actingonprevioustraining,fourofthem—malesVulcanandBaron,andfemalesNobuandCalliope—voluntarilyallowedkeeperstoswabtheirnoses. — SeanP.Means,TheSaltLakeTribune,25Oct.2021 Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'swab.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. SeeMore FirstKnownUseofswab Noun 1653,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1aVerb 1719,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1 HistoryandEtymologyforswab Noun probablyfromobsoleteDutchswabbe;akintoLowGermanswabbermop Verb back-formationfromswabber LearnMoreAboutswab Shareswab PosttheDefinitionofswabtoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofswabonTwitter TimeTravelerforswab Thefirstknownuseofswabwas in1653 Seemorewordsfromthesameyear DictionaryEntriesNearswab SW swab swabber SeeMoreNearbyEntries  PhrasesRelatedtoswab cottonswab Statisticsforswab LastUpdated 25Dec2021 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Swab.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/swab.Accessed29Dec.2021. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforswab swab noun EnglishLanguageLearnersDefinitionofswab (Entry1of2) :asmallpieceofsoftmaterialsometimesontheendofasmallstickthatisusedforapplyingmedicine,cleaningawound,etc. :asmallamountofmaterialtakenwithaswabasasamplefromaperson'sbody swab verb EnglishLanguageLearnersDefinitionofswab (Entry2of2) :towipeorclean(something,suchasawound)withaswab :mopentry2sense1 SeethefulldefinitionforswabintheEnglishLanguageLearnersDictionary swab noun \ˈswäb \ KidsDefinitionofswab (Entry1of2) 1 :ayarnmopespeciallyasusedonaship 2 :awadofabsorbentmaterialusuallywoundaroundtheendofasmallstickandusedforapplyingorremovingmaterial(asmedicineormakeup) swab verb swabbed;swabbing KidsDefinitionofswab (Entry2of2) 1 :tocleanwithorasifwithamop Aboyswabbedtheship'sdeck. 2 :toapplymedicationtowithawadofabsorbentmaterial Anurseswabbedthewoundwithiodine. swab noun \ˈswäb \ Medical Definitionofswab (Entry1of2) 1 :awadofabsorbentmaterialusuallywoundaroundoneendofasmallstickandusedforapplyingmedicationorforremovingmaterialfromanarea 2 :aspecimentakenwithaswab athroatswab swab transitiveverb swabbed;swabbing Medical Definitionofswab (Entry2of2) :toapplymedicationtowithaswab swabbedthewoundwithiodine MorefromMerriam-Websteronswab Nglish:TranslationofswabforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofswabforArabicSpeakers WORDOFTHEDAY carteblanche SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! 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