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
Sarah Linn
july 11, Sacbee.com, 11 July 2025
Later still, investigators took a swab from Kohberger's cheek and made a direct comparison.
—Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 29 June 2025
Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 9 July 2025
Analyzing Bacteria on the ISS In the study, researchers called on astronauts to swab 803 different surfaces on the ISS, which gathered 100 times more samples than previous surveys have examined.
—Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 27 Feb. 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.
Send us feedback.
Noun
However, a driver is not legally obligated to submit to a field sobriety test, pre-arrest test or cheek swab at a DUI checkpoint, according to the Law Offices of Grech and Parker in Riverside.
Field sobriety tests are subjective and may not accurately measure sobriety, according to Bee archives.
—Sarah Linn
july 11, Sacbee.com, 11 July 2025
Later still, investigators took a swab from Kohberger's cheek and made a direct comparison.
—Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 29 June 2025
Verb
The study swabbed both hard- and soft-shell suitcases.
—Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 9 July 2025
Analyzing Bacteria on the ISS In the study, researchers called on astronauts to swab 803 different surfaces on the ISS, which gathered 100 times more samples than previous surveys have examined.
—Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 27 Feb. 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 21 Jul. 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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