Swab — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

implement consisting of a small piece of cotton that is used to apply medication or cleanse a wound or obtain a specimen of a secretion

cleaning implement consisting of absorbent material fastened to a handle; for cleaning floors

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/swˈɑːb/

🇬🇧British English

/swˈɒb/

🇮🇳Indian English

/swˈɒb/

1 syllable Say it as /swˈɑːb/.

Examples

swab the ship's decks
dab the wall with paint

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

mop dab swob

Parts of Speech

noun	implement consisting of a small piece of cotton that is used to apply medication or cleanse a wound or obtain a specimen of a secretion
noun	cleaning implement consisting of absorbent material fastened to a handle; for cleaning floors
verb	wash with a swab or a mop “swab the ship's decks”
verb	apply (usually a liquid) to a surface “dab the wall with paint”

Word Forms

swab	verb	apply (usually a liquid) to a surface
swob	verb	wash with a swab or a mop
mop	verb	to wash or wipe with or as if with a mop
swab	noun	cleaning implement consisting of absorbent material fastened to a handle; for cleaning floors
swabbing	noun	cleaning with a mop
swob	noun	cleaning implement consisting of absorbent material fastened to a handle; for cleaning floors
dab	noun	a light touch or stroke

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Tupfer

Gerät bestehend aus einem kleinen Stück Baumwolle, das zum Auftragen von Medikamenten, zum Reinigen einer Wunde oder zum Entnehmen einer Sekretprobe verwendet wird

🇫🇷French

écouvillon

instrument constitué d'un petit morceau de coton utilisé pour appliquer un médicament, nettoyer une plaie ou obtenir un échantillon de sécrétion

🇪🇸Spanish

torunda

Instrumento que consiste en un pequeño trozo de algodón que se utiliza para aplicar medicamentos o limpiar una herida u obtener una muestra de una secreción.

🇮🇹Italian

tampone

strumento costituito da un piccolo pezzo di cotone che viene utilizzato per applicare farmaci o pulire una ferita o prelevare un campione di secrezione

🇳🇱Dutch

wattenstaafje

werktuig bestaande uit een klein stukje katoen dat wordt gebruikt om medicijnen aan te brengen, een wond te reinigen of een monster van een secretie te verkrijgen

🇵🇹Portuguese

cotonete

implemento que consiste em um pequeno pedaço de algodão que serve para aplicar medicamentos ou limpar uma ferida ou obter uma amostra de secreção

🇷🇺Russian

тампон

инструмент, состоящий из небольшого кусочка ваты, который используется для нанесения лекарств, очистки раны или получения образца секрета.

India

🇮🇳Hindi

पट्टी

कपास के एक छोटे टुकड़े से बना कार्यान्वयन जिसका उपयोग दवा लगाने या घाव को साफ करने या स्राव का नमूना प्राप्त करने के लिए किया जाता है

🇮🇳Tamil

துடைப்பான்

மருந்தைப் பயன்படுத்துவதற்கு அல்லது காயத்தைச் சுத்தப்படுத்த அல்லது ஒரு சுரப்பு மாதிரியைப் பெறுவதற்குப் பயன்படுத்தப்படும் ஒரு சிறிய பருத்தியை உள்ளடக்கியதை செயல்படுத்தவும்

🇮🇳Telugu

శుభ్రముపరచు

మందులను పూయడానికి లేదా గాయాన్ని శుభ్రపరచడానికి లేదా స్రావం యొక్క నమూనాను పొందేందుకు ఉపయోగించే ఒక చిన్న పత్తి ముక్కను కలిగి ఉంటుంది

🇮🇳Marathi

घासणे

कापसाचा एक लहान तुकडा असलेली अंमलबजावणी ज्याचा वापर औषधोपचार करण्यासाठी किंवा जखम साफ करण्यासाठी किंवा स्रावाचा नमुना मिळविण्यासाठी केला जातो

🇮🇳Gujarati

સ્વેબ

કપાસનો એક નાનો ટુકડો ધરાવતો અમલ કે જેનો ઉપયોગ દવા લાગુ કરવા અથવા ઘાને સાફ કરવા અથવા સ્ત્રાવનો નમૂનો મેળવવા માટે થાય છે

🇮🇳Kannada

ಸ್ವ್ಯಾಬ್

ಔಷಧವನ್ನು ಅನ್ವಯಿಸಲು ಅಥವಾ ಗಾಯವನ್ನು ಶುದ್ಧೀಕರಿಸಲು ಅಥವಾ ಸ್ರವಿಸುವಿಕೆಯ ಮಾದರಿಯನ್ನು ಪಡೆಯಲು ಬಳಸಲಾಗುವ ಸಣ್ಣ ಹತ್ತಿಯ ತುಂಡನ್ನು ಒಳಗೊಂಡಿರುವ ಕಾರ್ಯಗತಗೊಳಿಸಿ

🇮🇳Malayalam

സ്വാബ്

മരുന്ന് പ്രയോഗിക്കുന്നതിനോ മുറിവ് ശുദ്ധീകരിക്കുന്നതിനോ സ്രവത്തിൻ്റെ ഒരു മാതൃക നേടുന്നതിനോ ഉപയോഗിക്കുന്ന ഒരു ചെറിയ കഷണം കോട്ടൺ അടങ്ങുന്ന നടപ്പിലാക്കുക

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਫ਼ੰਬੇ

ਕਪਾਹ ਦੇ ਇੱਕ ਛੋਟੇ ਜਿਹੇ ਟੁਕੜੇ ਨੂੰ ਸ਼ਾਮਲ ਕਰੋ ਜੋ ਦਵਾਈ ਨੂੰ ਲਾਗੂ ਕਰਨ ਜਾਂ ਜ਼ਖ਼ਮ ਨੂੰ ਸਾਫ਼ ਕਰਨ ਜਾਂ ਇੱਕ ਸੈਕ੍ਰੇਸ਼ਨ ਦਾ ਨਮੂਨਾ ਪ੍ਰਾਪਤ ਕਰਨ ਲਈ ਵਰਤਿਆ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ

🇵🇰Urdu

جھاڑو

روئی کے ایک چھوٹے سے ٹکڑے پر مشتمل عمل جو دوا لگانے یا زخم صاف کرنے یا رطوبت کا نمونہ حاصل کرنے کے لیے استعمال ہوتا ہے

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

拭子

由一小块棉花组成的工具，用于涂抹药物或清洁伤口或获取分泌物样本

🇯🇵Japanese

綿棒

薬を塗布したり、傷を洗浄したり、分泌物の標本を採取したりするために使用される小さな綿片からなる器具

🇰🇷Korean

미련퉁이

약을 바르거나 상처를 세척하거나 분비물 표본을 채취하는 데 사용되는 작은 면 조각으로 구성된 도구

🇻🇳Vietnamese

tăm bông

dụng cụ bao gồm một miếng bông nhỏ được sử dụng để bôi thuốc hoặc làm sạch vết thương hoặc lấy mẫu dịch tiết

🇹🇭Thai

ไม้กวาด

เครื่องใช้ประกอบด้วยสำลีผืนเล็ก ๆ ที่ใช้ทายาหรือล้างแผลหรือเก็บตัวอย่างสารคัดหลั่ง

🇮🇩Indonesian

mengusap

alat yang terdiri dari sepotong kecil kapas yang digunakan untuk mengoleskan obat atau membersihkan luka atau mendapatkan spesimen sekret

🇵🇭Filipino

pamunas

implement na binubuo ng isang maliit na piraso ng bulak na ginagamit sa paglalagay ng gamot o paglilinis ng sugat o pagkuha ng ispesimen ng pagtatago

🇲🇾Malay

sapu

alat yang terdiri daripada sekeping kecil kapas yang digunakan untuk menyapu ubat atau membersihkan luka atau mendapatkan spesimen rembesan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

مسحة

أداة تتكون من قطعة صغيرة من القطن تستخدم لوضع الدواء أو تطهير الجرح أو الحصول على عينة من الإفراز

🇮🇷Persian

سواب

ابزاری متشکل از یک تکه پنبه کوچک که برای استفاده از دارو یا تمیز کردن زخم یا به دست آوردن نمونه ای از ترشح استفاده می شود.

🇹🇷Turkish

çubukla

İlaç uygulamak, yarayı temizlemek veya salgı örneği almak için kullanılan küçük bir pamuk parçasından oluşan alet

🇮🇱Hebrew

סְפוֹגִית

כלי המורכב מחתיכת כותנה קטנה המשמשת למריחת תרופות או ניקוי פצע או קבלת דגימה של הפרשה

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'swab'?

The primary meaning of 'swab' is 'implement consisting of a small piece of cotton that is used to apply medication or cleanse a wound or obtain a specimen of a secretion'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'swab' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'swab' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'swab' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'swab' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'swab' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'swab' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'swab' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'swab' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'swab' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'swab' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted