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
swabbed; swabbing
1
: to clean with or as if with a swab
2
: to apply medication to with a swab
swabbed the wound with iodine
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
Carmen Rios, Flow Space, 18 Apr. 2025
That means users collect a specimen at home (a swab, urine sample or blood sample) and send it to the test kit provider for results, which are usually ready within a few days.
—Catherine Pearson, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025
The Learning Network, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025
The next step was to swab their DNA and put their official ancestry to the test.
—Byandrew Curry, science.org, 6 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for swab
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
Visby’s test, which is only for women, delivers results from a vaginal swab in about a half-hour that are around 97% accurate.
—Carmen Rios, Flow Space, 18 Apr. 2025
That means users collect a specimen at home (a swab, urine sample or blood sample) and send it to the test kit provider for results, which are usually ready within a few days.
—Catherine Pearson, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025
Verb
That included a spacewalk by Ms. Williams and Mr. Wilmore to swab the outside of the space station to see if Earth microbes could survive and maybe even thrive in space.
—The Learning Network, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025
The next step was to swab their DNA and put their official ancestry to the test.
—Byandrew Curry, science.org, 6 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for swab
Cite this Entry
“Swab.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/swab. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
swab
1 of 2 noun1
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 noun1
: 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
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