swab

1 of 2

noun

ˈswäb 

1

a

: mop

especially : a yarn mop

b(1)

: a wad of absorbent material usually wound around one end of a small stick and used especially for applying medication or for removing material from an area

(2)

: a specimen taken with a swab

c

: a sponge or cloth patch attached to a long handle and used to clean the bore of a firearm

2

a

: a useless or contemptible person

b

: sailor, gob

swab

2 of 2

verb

swabbed; swabbing

transitive verb

1

: to clean with or as if with a swab

2

: to apply medication to with a swab

swabbed the wound with iodine

Synonyms

Noun

• gob
• hearty
• jack
• jack-tar
• mariner
• navigator
• sailor
• salt
• sea dog
• seafarer
• seaman
• shipman
• swabbie [slang]
• swabby
• tar

Examples of swab in a Sentence

Noun

Use a cotton swab dipped in alcohol to disinfect the area.

The doctor took a throat swab and sent it to the lab.

Verb

The nurse swabbed the cut with a disinfectant.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The facility produces billions of plastic parts every year, among which include window parts, beverage caps, swabs for COVID-19 tests, and, perhaps most iconic, K'nex toy sets. —Joe Enoch, CBS News, 9 June 2025

Heller said that state park and wildlife officials took swabs of his board on the beach to analyze the shark DNA and then asked to take his board to analyze the shark bites. —Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2025

Verb

Every piece is manually colored and swabbed ensuring their uniqueness. —Andrea Onate, Footwear News, 2 June 2025

Spanning from October 2020 through the end of 2024, the records show that CBP swabbed the cheeks of between 829,000 and 2.8 million people, with experts estimating that the true figure, excluding duplicates, is likely well over 1.5 million. —Dhruv Mehrotra, Wired News, 29 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

probably from obsolete Dutch swabbe; akin to Low German swabber mop

Verb

back-formation from swabber

First Known Use

Noun

1653, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1719, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing swab

• cotton swab

Rhymes for swab

• blob
• bob
• cob
• daub
• fob
• glob
• gob
• hob
• job
• knob
• lob
• mob

Kids Definition

swab

1 of 2 noun

ˈswäb 

1

a

: mop entry 1 sense 1

b

: a wad of absorbent material usually wound around one end of a small stick and used especially for applying medicine or for removing material (as from a wound)

also : a sample taken with a swab

2

: sailor

swab

2 of 2 verb

swabbed; swabbing

: to use a swab on

Medical Definition

swab

1 of 2 noun

ˈswäb 

1

: a wad of absorbent material usually wound around one end of a small stick and used for applying medication or for removing material from an area

2

: a specimen taken with a swab

a throat swab

swab

2 of 2 transitive verb

swabbed; swabbing

: to apply medication to with a swab

swabbed the wound with iodine