Swab

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  • In medicine, a swab is a small piece of material, such as gauze or cotton, which is used to clean wounds, apply medications, or retrieve samples of body fluids such as blood or mucus. Swabs may be attached to stiff wires or sticks to aid access. Swabbing is useful as a noninvasive technique which is easily mastered.
  • In ships, swabbing the decks (with the purpose of keeping them clean) is a near constant task. Thus, a swab is a person in charge of swabbing. It could also be used as a derogatory term for sailors that, so to speak, were above the swabbing "rank". Trainees serving on the United States Coast Guard Barque Eagle are called swabs (see http://www.uscga.edu/eagle/update_cadet_16Aug2006.aspx)

Swabs are also used for cleaning and/or testing in other fields, such as the dyne test of the surface energy of plastics. It has been found that swabs made by different manufacturers can give different results, because different substances are used to bind the material to the stick [1].

  • In music, a swab is a thin cloth usually attached to a small metal weight or chain which is used to wipe and dry the inside of woodwind instruments such as the clarinet.
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