wrap
Americanverb (used with object)
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to enclose in something wound or folded about (often followed byup ).
She wrapped her head in a scarf.
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to enclose and make fast (an article, bundle, etc.) within a covering of paper or the like (often followed byup ).
He wrapped the package up in brown paper.
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to wind, fold, or bind (something) about as a covering.
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to protect with coverings, outer garments, etc. (usually followed byup ).
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to cover (fingernails) with a sheer silk or linen fabric, as to repair or strengthen them.
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to surround, envelop, shroud, or hide.
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to fold or roll up.
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Movies, Television. to finish the filming of (a motion picture).
verb (used without object)
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to wrap oneself (usually followed byup ).
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to become wrapped, enclosed, packaged, or folded (usually followed byup ).
This hat wraps up into a pocket-size square—perfect for hiking and camping.
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Movies, Television. to complete the filming of a motion picture.
We hope to wrap in time for Christmas.
noun
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something to be wrapped about the person, especially in addition to the usual indoor clothing, such as a shawl.
an evening wrap.
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a beauty treatment in which a part or all of the body is covered with cream, lotion, herbs, or the like and then wrapped snugly with cloth.
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a sheer silk or linen fabric glued to the fingernails to repair or strengthen them.
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a flatbread wrapped around a filling and eaten as a sandwich.
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Movies, Television.
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the completion of photography on a film or an individual scene.
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the termination of a working day during the shooting of a film.
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adjective
verb phrase
idioms
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wrapped up in,
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intensely absorbed in.
wrapped up in one's work.
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involved in; bound up with.
Peace is wrapped up in willingness to compromise.
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under wraps, secret.
The army wants this research project kept under wraps.
verb
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to fold or wind (paper, cloth, etc) around (a person or thing) so as to cover
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(often foll by up) to fold paper, etc, around to fasten securely
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to surround or conceal by surrounding
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to enclose, immerse, or absorb
wrapped in sorrow
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to fold, wind, or roll up
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(intr; often foll by about, around, etc) to be or become wound or extended
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to complete the filming of (a motion picture or television programme)
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Also called: rap. informal (often foll by up) to praise (someone)
noun
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a garment worn wrapped around the body, esp the shoulders, such as a shawl or cloak
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short for wrapround
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a type of sandwich consisting of a tortilla wrapped round a filling
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wrapping or a wrapper
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slang a small package of an illegal drug in powder form
a wrap of heroin
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Also called: rap. informal a commendation
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the end of a working day during the filming of a motion picture or television programme
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the completion of filming of a motion picture or television programme
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to keep secret
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to reveal
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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prewrapnoun
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underwrapnoun
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rewrapverb
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prewrapverb (used with object)
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underwrapverb (used with object)
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interwrapverb (used without object)
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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wrapsimple
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wrapssimple
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have wrappedperfect
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have wraptperfect
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has wrappedperfect
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has wraptperfect
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am wrappingprogressive
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are wrappingprogressive
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is wrappingprogressive
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have been wrappingperfect progressive
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has been wrappingperfect progressive
Past
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wrappedsimple
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wraptsimple
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had wrappedperfect
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had wraptperfect
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was wrappingprogressive
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were wrappingprogressive
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had been wrappingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of wrap
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English wrappen, of obscure origin; compare dialectal Danish vravle to wind
Explanation
To wrap something is to enclose it, like when you wrap holiday presents in glittery paper. When you're done with the presents, you can wrap yourself in a cozy blanket while you drink hot chocolate. Wrap also has a number of noun meanings. There's the wrap you wear, which is similar to a cloak or a shawl. There's also the plastic wrap you use to cover a bowl of leftovers, and the wrap you make when you fold a tortilla around sandwich fillings. The verb wrap came first, from a root meaning "to turn or wind." To wrap something up also means to end it, so let's wrap up this blurb by saying, "That's a wrap!" — it's what movie directors since the 1920s have been saying when filming is finished.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Treasury bond’s yield is now on pace to wrap up July with its largest monthly gain since March.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
That way, the people most closely connected to her can provide the necessary information and wrap up the remainder of her estate.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
"That's a wrap on Manila. Thank you for welcoming me, my countrymen," she said in an Instagram story.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
At some point, it was torn into strips and used to wrap a mummy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
“Look to your left,” my aunt said softly, her voice close to my ear now as she pretended to dust off my wool wrap, “but don’t make a show of it.”
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
Still, the streaming giant seems to be focusing mainly on the edges of production -- from visualizing a concept early on to color-grading footage after filming wraps.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
The homebuilder said it now expects revenue of $32.5 billion to $33 billion for the full fiscal year, which wraps up at the end of September.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Silver said his “timeline remains this summer” to make his findings known after high-powered New York law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz wraps up its investigation and presents the findings to the NBA.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
That’s because new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh is likely to keep any insight about how close the Fed is to tightening its monetary policy under wraps, experts say.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
He shoves one biscuit into his mouth, wraps the other one in a napkin, grabs his bag, and waves goodbye.
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
As Warsh wrapped up last week’s postmeeting press conference, yields on long-dated Treasury bonds suddenly broke higher, while yields on short-dated Treasury notes moved lower.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
"They even have make-up artists to help you," she said as she mounted a crimson superbike, wrapped her arms around her driver and sped off with a videographer in pursuit.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
Two years from now, the Olympics will have just wrapped up with the Paralympics on the horizon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
A two-week trial over this system, and over the state’s broader refusal to air-condition its prisons, wrapped up on April 9 in Pitman’s Austin courtroom.
From Slate ● Jul. 31, 2026
She drew her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms tightly around her shins and rocked back and forth, in rhythm to my spinning.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
While inland China was wrapt in its customary slumber, the coast provinces, from Kwangtung to Chihli, effervesced in a variety of bubbles.
From Time Magazine Archive
And though like a mourner that sits by a tomb, I am wrapt in a mantle of care; Yet the grief of my bosom—oh! call it not gloom— Is not the black grief of despair.
From The Genius of Scotland or Sketches of Scottish Scenery, Literature and Religion by Turnbull, Robert
Jeremiah, a magnificent figure, sits with elbow on knee, and head on hand, wrapt in the meditation appropriate to one called to utter lamentation and woe.
From Walks in Rome by Hare, Augustus J. C.
But this time the earth was not wrapt in slumber or swathed in mist.
From Fickle Fortune by Elisabeth Burstenbinder (AKA E. Werner)
In winter, wrapt in a blanket, he studied till midnight, and in summer, at dawn, resorted to a cemetery near by, where he found the quiet he desired.
From Famous American Statesmen by Bolton, Sarah Knowles
About the 10th or 12th time Spidey defeats a gaggle of adversaries by wrapping them up in webs, this series seems entangled in its own predictability.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
"Everybody is still wrapping their head around it," said Mike Mosallam, COO of production company Shadowbox Studios, in an interview with Variety as recently 2025.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
It remains unclear when all the meat will be removed, but the company is taking steps to mitigate the odor by wrapping most of the building in a temporary material and using misting systems.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
The problem was the launch of the z17 mainframe program, which the company expected to be wrapping up during the second quarter.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
I picked up the phone and punched in Sookie’s number, wrapping the cape over my shoulders again.
From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
