Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words

swab

 - 7 dictionary results
Wholesale Swabs Supplier.
Wholesale Medical Swabs.Competitive Prices. Quantity Discounts.
Qosina.com/Swabs
Swab
Foam, Cotton, Chamois, Sterile, Cleanroom Swabs - All Sizes
www.HarmonyCR.com

swab

  [swob] noun, verb, swabbed, swab⋅bing.
Use swab in a Sentence
–noun
1. a large mop used on shipboard for cleaning decks, living quarters, etc.
2. a bit of sponge, cloth, cotton, or the like, sometimes fixed to a stick, for cleansing the mouth of a sick person or for applying medicaments, drying areas, etc.
3. the material collected with a swab as a specimen for microscopic study.
4. a brush or wad of absorbent material for cleaning the bore of a firearm.
5. Slang. a sailor; swabby.
6. Slang. a clumsy fellow.
–verb (used with object)
7. to clean with or as if with a swab: to swab the decks.
8. to take up or apply, as moisture, with or as if with a swab: to swab soapy water from the decks.
9. to pass over a surface: to swab a mop over the decks.
Also, swob.

Origin:
1645–55; back formation from swabber
Wholesale Swabs Supplier.
Wholesale Medical Swabs.Competitive Prices. Quantity Discounts.
Qosina.com/Swabs
Swab
Foam, Cotton, Chamois, Sterile, Cleanroom Swabs - All Sizes
www.HarmonyCR.com

Swab.

 
1. Swabia.
2. Swabian.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To swab
swab also swob   (swŏb)   
n.  

    1. A small piece of absorbent material attached to the end of a stick or wire and used for cleansing or applying medicine.

    2. A specimen of mucus or other material removed with a swab.

  2. A sponge or patch of absorbent material used to clean the bore of a firearm or cannon.

  3. A mop used for cleaning floors or decks.

  4. Slang A sailor.

  5. Slang A lout.

tr.v.   swabbed also swobbed, swab·bing also swob·bing, swabs also swobs

  1. To use a swab on.

  2. To clean with a swab.

  3. To take a specimen from (a person) using a swab.


[Back-formation from swabber, mop for a ship's deck (from obsolete Dutch *zwabber, from zwabben, to mop) or from obsolete Dutch swabbe, mop (from Middle Dutch).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 1swab
Pronunciation: 'swäb
Function: noun
1 : a wad of absorbent material usually wound around one end of a small stickand used for applying medication or for removing material from an area
2 : a specimen taken with a swab swab>

Main Entry: 2swab
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: swabbed; swab·bing
: to apply medication to with a swab<swabbed the wound with iodine>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

swab (swŏb)
n.

  1. A small piece of absorbent material attached to the end of a stick or wire and used for cleansing or applying medicine.

  2. A specimen of mucus or other material removed with a swab.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Computing Dictionary

swab
/swob/ The PDP-11 swap byte instruction mnemonic, as immortalised in the dd option "conv=swab".
1. To solve the NUXI problem by swapping bytes in a file.
2. The program in V7 Unix used to perform this action, or anything functionally equivalent to it.
See also big-endian, little-endian, middle-endian, bytesexual.
[The Jargon File]

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
Cite This Source
Search another word or see swab on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way