Synonyms of swabs

swabs 1 of 2

noun

plural of swab

as in sailors

one who operates or navigates a seagoing vessel

old swabs swapping sea stories as they spend their last days in the veterans' home

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sailors
• mariners
• navigators
• salts
• seamen
• tars
• swabbies
• gobs
• sea dogs
• shipmen
• seafarers
• hearties
• jacks
• jack-tars
• crewmen
• shipmates
• deckhands
• lubbers
• coxswains
• able seamen
• able-bodied seamen
• limeys
• lime-juicers
• powerboaters
• sailboaters

swabs

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of swab

as in wipes

Related Words

• wipes
• brushes
• rinses
• combs
• sponges
• mops
• scrubs
• dusts
• sweeps
• shampoos
• cleans
• washes
• vacuums
• scours
• launders
• turns out
• decontaminates
• cleanses
• dry-cleans
• purges
• mucks (out)
• disinfects
• GIs
• purifies
• deterges
• sanitizes
• deodorizes
• freshens
• brightens
• spruces (up)
• straightens (up)
• sweetens
• tidies
• picks up
• unclutters

Dissimilar Words

• taints
• pollutes
• muddies
• defiles
• stains
• spots
• discolors
• soils
• blackens
• begrimes
• dirties
• fouls
• sullies
• besmirches

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of swabs

Noun

While processing the crime scene, investigators took DNA swabs of the bodies, Chaidez said. — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 1 Oct. 2026

His defense argued that the partial DNA profile from swabs on Maggie Murdaugh's phone should be further tested as well. — Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 21 Sep. 2026

What Michael didn’t say was that, sometime after Star’s hospital visit, the kids’ nose swabs had come back negative for measles. — Ruby Cramer, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026

As with almost all single-chip LCD models, the Boom Air comes with a cleaning kit of swabs on sticks for removing dust specs from the LCD if needed. — M. David Stone, PC Magazine, 22 Aug. 2026

Yet the virus spread undetected for a month because researchers were unable to get permission from a rigid bureaucracy to test the swabs that would have helped identify it. — Jennifer Pahlka, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026

Investigators recovered numerous pieces of evidence, including pieces of clothing, fired shell casings, DNA swabs and bullet fragments collected from Cherry’s body, according to the report. — Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 July 2026

Addicts could bring their heroin and cocaine to a 13-seat center where staff dispensed needles, swabs, and sterile water to cook the drugs and offered advice on vein maintenance. — Michael Powell, The Atlantic, 30 July 2026

Berk questioned why two chainsaws found in the garage and a third miniature saw discovered inside the house were not collected into evidence after initial chemical swabs tested negative for blood. — Claudia Rosenbaum, Vulture, 28 July 2026