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   Swab

   /swäb/

   

   noun

   • 1. an absorbent pad or piece of material, often on a stick or rod, used in surgery and medicine for cleaning wounds and skin, applying medication, or taking specimens.
   • ▪ a specimen of tissue or secretions taken with a swab for examination: "he had taken throat swabs"
   • ▪ a piece of absorbent material used for cleaning the bore of a firearm, a woodwind instrument, etc.
   • 2. a mop or other absorbent device for cleaning or mopping up a floor or other surface.
   • 3. a contemptible person: archaic "‘Avast, ye swabs,’ she shouted"
   • ▪ another term for swabbie nautical slang US

   verb

   • 1. take a specimen of tissue or secretions from (a person or part of the body) for examination: "we need to be swabbing people with any hint of illness"
   • 2. clean (a floor or other surface) with a mop or other absorbent device: "the crew were swabbing down the decks"
   • ▪ clean (a wound or the skin) with an absorbent pad or piece of material: "swab a patch of skin with alcohol"
   • ▪ soak up or clear (moisture) with something absorbent: "the blood was swabbed away"

   Word Origin mid 17th century (in the sense ‘mop for cleaning the decks’): back-formation from swabber ‘sailor detailed to swab decks’, from early modern Dutch zwabber, from a Germanic base meaning ‘splash’ or ‘sway’.

   Scrabble Points: 9

   • S

     1

   • W

     4

   • A

     1

   • B

     3

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