Dictionary
swab
Pronunciation: (swob), [key]
—n., v., swabbed, swab•bing.
—
n.
1. a large mop used on shipboard for cleaning decks, living quarters, etc.
2. a bit of sponge, cloth, cotton, or the like, sometimes fixed to a stick, for cleansing the mouth of a sick person or for applying medicaments, drying areas, etc.
3. the material collected with a swab as a specimen for microscopic study.
4. a brush or wad of absorbent material for cleaning the bore of a firearm.
5. Slang.a sailor; swabby.
6. Slang.a clumsy fellow.
—
v.t.
1. to clean with or as if with a swab:
to swab the decks.
2. to take up or apply, as moisture, with or as if with a swab:
to swab soapy water from the decks.
3. to pass over a surface:
to swab a mop over the decks. Also,swob.Swab.
1. Swabia.
2. Swabian.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.