swab
Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word swab. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word swab, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say swab in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word swab you have here. The definition of the word swab will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofswab, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
See also: Swab
English
Etymology
Mid 17th century (in the sense 'mop for cleaning the decks'): back-formation from Middle English swabber (“sailor detailed to swab decks”), from Middle Dutch zwabber, from a Germanic base meaning 'splash' or 'sway', also found as nautical German Schwabber and Volga German Schwabber ("scrubber, mop, swab")
Pronunciation
Noun
swab (plural swabs)
- (medicine) A small piece of soft, absorbent material, such as gauze, used to clean wounds, apply medicine, or take samples of body fluids. Often attached to a stick or wire to aid access.
- A sample taken with a swab (piece of absorbent material).
- A piece of material used for cleaning or sampling other items like musical instruments or guns.
- A mop, especially on a ship.
- (slang) A sailor; a swabby.
- 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, chapter 25, in Treasure Island, London, Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:
- As for that swab, he's good and dead, he is.
- (slang) A naval officer's epaulet.
Synonyms
- (sailor): swabby
Derived terms
Translations
a small piece of soft, absorbent material
A sample taken with a swab
A piece of material used for cleaning or sampling other items like musical instruments or guns
A mop, especially on a ship
A sailor
Verb
swab (third-person singular simple present swabs, present participle swabbing, simple past and past participle swabbed)
- (transitive) To use a swab on something, or clean something with a swab.
- swab the deck of a ship
- 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VI, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
- He had one hand on the bounce bottle—and he'd never let go of that since he got back to the table—but he had a handkerchief in the other and was swabbing his deadlights with it.
Translations
To use a swab on something, or clean something with a swab
|
Anagrams
Egyptian
Romanization
swab