swab

1. 1.

   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

   Broaderimplement
2. 2.

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

   Synonymsswobmop

   Broadercleaning implement

   Narrowerdustmopsponge mop

   Partsmop handle

1. 1.

   wash with a swab or a mop

   “swab the ship's decks”

   Synonymsswob

   Broaderwipe up
2. 2.

   apply (usually a liquid) to a surface

   “dab the wall with paint”

   Synonymsdabswob

   Broaderput on

Other forms of swab

plural

swabs·

past tense or participle

swabbed

present participle

swabbing

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about swab

What does swab mean?

swab means "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". That is the primary sense; the word has 4 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in swab?

swab has 1 syllable: swab. In IPA it is /ˈswɑb/.

What is another word for swab?

Close synonyms include swob, mop, swob, dab, swob. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is swab a common word?

swab is banded "Familiar" — widely understood, used when the subject calls for it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.