to swab
36
4.0
- verb
- /swɑb/
- You should swab the wound with antiseptic to prevent infection.
- swab the deck
- swab the floor
- swab your cheek
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Watch on YouTubeWhen I had long nails I'd always dip AQ tip in alcohol and swab underneath them.
- When I had long nails I'd always dip AQ tip in alcohol and swab underneath them.
- Press the flat head firmly against your gum and swab it along your upper gum ones and your lower gum one.
- So they came in with a little tray and he swabbed my hands, swabbed my face and he said if you've got a new hand case, I said I've only got tissues.
Examples
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Press the flat head firmly against your gum and swab it along your upper gum ones and your lower gum one.
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Adam is attempting to swab the abrasion on Eve's knee through the tear in her old sweat pants.
Fiction book (1999) -
You know, you should swab that with alcohol.
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And swab it with this, eh?
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Look here, I'll swab this time.
Fiction book (1994) -
When you are at risk of infections, you may want to consistently swab before the injection to prevent disease.
Blog text (18) -
Primary care physicians must learn to swab ears and perform tragal pumping.
Academic text (2005) -
The prince swore mildly and seized the nearest cloth to swab the blood beading the length of the scratch.
Fiction book (1993) -
Now first, I want you to clean out the head and the bilge and the storage compartments, and then I want you to swab down the decks, box up the hatches, and when you're through with that, I want all these fittings polished on deck.
-
Before applying paint, make sure to swab the surface to remove any dust.
Synonyms
71
1.0
To clean a floor with a long handle and wet cloth
47
2.0
To remove something from a surface by moving a cloth over it, like tears or dirt
26
2.8
To touch or apply something lightly and quickly with your hand
15
3.4
Take a thin layer off the top of a liquid
15
2.6
To remove liquid or dirt from a floor with a cloth
12
1.8
To clean a surface using a cloth or towel to remove a spill
4
4.1
To remove liquid by pressing a soft cloth or paper against a surface
3
2.1
To clean up liquid by using a soft thing that soaks it up
2
3.7
Take oil or fat from the top of a liquid using a spoon
To clean a floor with a mop
Compounds
How Thorough
Surface Forms
Etymology
Swab probably comes from an old Dutch word swabbe meaning 'mop' or 'sponge'; sailors used a swab to clean their decks, so the verb swab came to mean 'to wipe or clean' a surface.