present participle
Cleaning a part of the body or collecting a sample using a swab.
The nurse is swabbing the patient's throat.
They are swabbing the wound before the operation.
American English
How to pronounce swabbing
verb · nounB2
SWAHbihng
/ˈswɑ.bɪŋ/
2 syllables · Stress the first syllable.
Form of swab
Cleaning a part of the body or collecting a sample using a swab.
Practice out loudMeanings & examples
gerund
The activity of cleaning a part of the body or collecting a sample using a swab.
Swabbing the area may cause slight discomfort.
Swabbing the nose is quick and usually painless.
Related words & forms
The final consonant is doubled before -ed and -ing: swabbed, swabbing.