swab
a large mop used on shipboard for cleaning decks, living quarters, etc.
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.
the material collected with a swab as a specimen for microscopic study.
a brush or wad of absorbent material for cleaning the bore of a firearm.
Slang. a sailor; swabby.
Slang. a clumsy fellow.
to clean with or as if with a swab: to swab the decks.
to take up or apply, as moisture, with or as if with a swab: to swab soapy water from the decks.
to pass over a surface: to swab a mop over the decks.
Origin of swab
1Other words from swab
- un·swabbed, adjective
Words Nearby swab
Other definitions for Swab. (2 of 2)
Swabia.
Swabian.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use swab in a sentence
A woman standing in line for a coronavirus test asks one of the officials if the test—a nose and throat swab—hurts.
Hong Kong’s citywide COVID-19 testing has become a barometer of public trust | eamonbarrett | September 9, 2020 | FortuneThe throat swab is less invasive, requiring only a quick brush of the back of the tongue.
Hong Kong’s citywide COVID-19 testing has become a barometer of public trust | eamonbarrett | September 9, 2020 | FortuneThe Food and Drug Administration has issued emergency authorizations for more than 150 diagnostic Covid-19 tests, including those that rely on saliva and others that require a swab of deep in the nasal cavity, the front of the nose or the throat.
Spit vs. Swab? Scientists say new studies support use of ‘saliva tests’ for COVID | Lee Clifford | September 5, 2020 | FortuneThe claims also included codes for a nasal swab coronavirus test.
A Doctor Went to His Own Employer for a COVID-19 Antibody Test. It Cost $10,984. | by Marshall Allen | September 5, 2020 | ProPublicaThe physician’s orders documented in the facility’s medical record also do not mention the nasal swab test.
A Doctor Went to His Own Employer for a COVID-19 Antibody Test. It Cost $10,984. | by Marshall Allen | September 5, 2020 | ProPublica
Objects included “speaker wire, an AAA battery, open safety pins, a plastic cup, straws, a marble, and a cotton-tipped swab.”
Sounding Takes Off, but Injuries (Fork in the Penis!) Are Inevitable | Kent Sepkowitz | August 20, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTShe submitted to a DNA swab after some discussions between the authorities and her lawyer.
Katherine Russell Under Scrutiny After Female DNA Found on Boston Bomb | Michael Daly | April 30, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThis consists of a tarred rope, or a flexible whip-stalk, three-fourths of an inch in diameter, with a swab or bulbous end.
Domestic Animals | Richard L. AllenI say, you young cub down there,” shouted the skipper to him from the hatchway, “come up and swab this deck.
Eric, or Little by Little | Frederic W. FarrarA Lascar is standing by grinning, with a bucket of water and a deck-swab; they want to begin holystoning down the decks.
Round the Wonderful World | G. E. MittonThen I jumps off my white mule, takes the swab by the heels, an' chucks him over the warehouse into a cactus bush.
Captain Scraggs | Peter B. KyneGordon is gone from us, and his name will pass, like that of the “swab” Tyler, into the quietude of the history-books.
British Dictionary definitions for swab
/ (swɒb) /
med
a small piece of cotton, gauze, etc, for use in applying medication, cleansing a wound, or obtaining a specimen of a secretion, etc
the specimen so obtained
a mop for cleaning floors, decks, etc
a brush used to clean a firearm's bore
slang an uncouth or worthless fellow
(tr) to clean or medicate with or as if with a swab
(tr foll by up) to take up with a swab
Origin of swab
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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