Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Swab
Swab
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Swabbed
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Swabbing
.] [See ]
Swabber
, Noun.
To clean with a mop or swab; to wipe when very wet, as after washing;
as, to
. swab
the desk of a ship[Spelt also
swob
.] Swab
,Noun.
[Written also
swob
.] 1.
A kind of mop for cleaning floors, the desks of vessels, etc., esp. one made of rope-yarns or threads.
2.
A bit of sponge, cloth, or the like, fastened to a handle, for cleansing the mouth of a sick person, applying medicaments to deep-seated parts, etc.
3.
(Naut.)
An epaulet.
[Sailor’s Slang]
Marryat.
4.
A cod, or pod, as of beans or pease.
[Obs.]
Bailey.
5.
A sponge, or other suitable substance, attached to a long rod or handle, for cleaning the bore of a firearm.
Webster 1828 Edition
Swab
SWAB
,Noun.
SWAB
,Verb.
T.
Definition 2024
swab
swab
English
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.
- 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, ch. 25:
- As for that swab, he's good and dead, he is.
- 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, ch. 25:
Synonyms
- (sailor): swabby
Translations
a small piece of soft, absorbent material
A sample taken with a swab
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A piece of material used for cleaning or sampling other items like musical instruments or guns
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A sailor
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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.
- 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 6, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
- 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.
- swab the deck of a ship
-