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

Investigators took swabs from two soda bottles collected from Brown’s trash, and sent the samples to the UNT lab for testing, according to the affidavit. — Amy McDaniel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 July 2026

Maybe there will be liquid biopsies (specialized blood tests) or even cheek swabs that can detect breast cancer. — Tara Thomas, Glamour, 10 July 2026

In April, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputies matched Hakim’s DNA with vaginal swabs taken during the rape examination, according to the affidavit. — Shira Moolten, Sun Sentinel, 9 July 2026

His fellow University of Pennsylvania football players performed cheek swabs on students who stopped to sign up at the event this spring. — Rylan Digiacomo-Rapp, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 June 2026

Before Werhan left the police barracks, troopers seized his phone and his clothes and took swabs of his hands and face. — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 25 June 2026

Meanwhile, in swabs from the mummy’s skin, Sarhan and his colleagues found bacteria like Methylobaderium and Sphingomonas, both known for being resilient in tough environments and for forming biofilms. — ArsTechnica, 6 June 2026

Prosecutors said a rape kit collected during Kepner’s autopsy included vaginal swabs that tested positive for male DNA, and one swab also tested positive for sperm. — Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 28 May 2026

Fingerprints lifted off the window matched 25-year-old Eduart Gomez Ochoa, as did DNA swabs from the teen’s foot and a winter hat the suspect left behind, according to a criminal complaint filed against him Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court. — Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 27 May 2026