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swab
1[ swob ]
noun
- a large mop used on shipboard for cleaning decks, living quarters, etc.
- 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.
- the material collected with a swab as a specimen for microscopic study.
- a brush or wad of absorbent material for cleaning the bore of a firearm.
- Slang. a sailor; swabby.
- Slang. a clumsy fellow.
verb (used with object)
- to clean with or as if with a swab:
to swab the decks.
- to take up or apply, as moisture, with or as if with a swab:
to swab soapy water from the decks.
- to pass over a surface:
to swab a mop over the decks.
Swab.
2abbreviation for
- Swabia.
- Swabian.
swab
/ ɒ /
noun
- med
- a small piece of cotton, gauze, etc, for use in applying medication, cleansing a wound, or obtaining a specimen of a secretion, etc
- the specimen so obtained
- a mop for cleaning floors, decks, etc
- a brush used to clean a firearm's bore
- slang.an uncouth or worthless fellow
verb
- tr to clean or medicate with or as if with a swab
- trfoll byup to take up with a swab
Other 51Թ Forms
- ܲ·ɲ adjective
51Թ History and Origins
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of swab1
Example Sentences
“I would be very concerned if I had given a swab to 23andMe. There is little we can do to control what happens to it.”
The company, founded in San Francisco 2006, and having served 15 million individuals to-date, is one of a handful of genetic testing businesses whose customers mail in a cotton swab of their saliva.
Hundreds of people were interviewed, DNA swabs were taken from local people and some young women were even arrested after their own families suggested they may have been responsible.
But now, anything that has been in contact with the lips and saliva can also be swabbed to provide a DNA profile, says Jo, such as cans, bottles of drinks and, increasingly, vapes.
"If you are aged 16-30, please sign up to the Anthony Nolan register online and send back your swabs. You could be the match that someone like baby Dolcie-Mae needs to survive."
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