Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

swab

/swɒb/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.83 in modern English

Syllables: swab
IPA: /swɒb/

9

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

1

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

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.

noun

A sample taken with a swab (piece of absorbent material).

noun

A piece of material used for cleaning or sampling other items like musical instruments or guns.

noun

A mop, especially on a ship.

noun

A sailor; a swabby.

Slang

noun

A naval officer's epaulet.

Slang

verb

To use a swab on something, or clean something with a swab.

Transitive verb

name

Example Sentences

"As for that swab, he's good and dead, he is."
"swab the deck of a ship"
"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."

Etymology

Mid 17th century (in the sense 'mop for cleaning the decks'): back-formation from Middle English swabber (“sailor detailed to swab decks”), from Middle Dutch zwabber, from a Germanic base meaning 'splash' or 'sway', also found as nautical German Schwabber and Volga German Schwabber ("scrubber, mop, swab")

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: swabber, zwabber

Usage

Inflected Forms

swabs (plural) swabs (present, singular) swabbing (participle, present) swabbed (participle, past) swabbed (past)

Derived Forms

immunoswab swabful preswab unswabbed

Phrases

cotton swab fire swab swab hitch swab jockey swab down

Synonyms

swabby swob mop dab

Rhymes With

job bob rob mob punjab cobb knob prob robb sob saab blob

Questions

How do you pronounce swab?: The recorded pronunciation is /swɒb/.
What does swab mean?: 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.
Where does swab come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce swab

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “swab”.
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