drape

American  

[dreyp] / dreɪp /

verb (used with object)

draped, draping

1. to cover or hang with cloth or other fabric, especially in graceful folds; adorn with drapery.

2. to adjust (curtains, clothes, etc.) into graceful folds, attractive lines, etc.

3. to arrange, hang, or let fall carelessly.

   Don't drape your feet over the chair!

4. Medicine/Medical, Surgery. to place cloth so as to surround (a part to be examined, treated, or operated upon).

5. (in reinforced-concrete construction) to hang (reinforcement) in a certain form between two points before pouring the concrete.

6. to put a black cravat on (a flagstaff ) as a token of mourning.

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verb (used without object)

draped, draping

1. to hang, fall, or become arranged in folds, as drapery.

   This silk drapes well.

noun

1. a curtain or hanging of heavy fabric and usually considerable length, especially either of a pair for covering a window and drawn open and shut horizontally.

2. either of a pair of similar curtains extending or draped at the sides of a window, French doors, or the like as decoration.

3. manner or style of hanging.

   the drape of a skirt.

drape British  

/ dreɪp /

verb

1. (tr) to hang or cover with flexible material or fabric, usually in folds; adorn

2. to hang or arrange or be hung or arranged, esp in folds

3. (tr) to place casually and loosely; hang

   she draped her arm over the back of the chair

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noun

1. (often plural) a cloth or hanging that covers something in folds; drapery

2. the way in which fabric hangs

Other Word Forms

• drapability noun
• drapable adjective
• drapeability noun
• drapeable adjective

Etymology

Origin of drape

1400–50; late Middle English < Middle French draper, derivative of drap cloth ( drab ¹ )

Example Sentences

Members of the Republican Guard carried the casket draped in a French flag into the courtyard to the beat of a drum before Macron read a eulogy, saying Jospin fought for justice and freedom.

From Barron's

Three days after the gunfight, the gates were wide open, and window drapes billowed in the breeze.

From The Wall Street Journal

Within minutes, they trudged back onto the field so a silver medal could be draped around their necks.

From Los Angeles Times

The moment it ended, the pro-Venezuelan crowd of 36,190 at LoanDepot Park erupted, and players stormed the field with Venezuelan flags draped around their shoulders.

From The Wall Street Journal

One of her draped arms began to come up, slow because she had arthritis in that elbow.

From Literature

Related Words

• cloak
• clothe
• cover
• dangle
• don
• dress
• enclose
• envelop
• fold
• hang
• sprawl
• swathe
• wrap