bandage
Americannoun
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bandages
plural
verb (used with object)
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bandages,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bandaged,
past participle, past
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bandaging
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
bandages,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bandaged,
past participle, past
-
bandaging
present participle
noun
-
a piece of material used to dress a wound, bind a broken limb, etc
-
a strip of any soft material used for binding, etc
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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bandagernoun
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rebandageverb (used with object)
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unbandageverb (used with object)
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well-bandagedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
bandagesimple
-
bandagessimple
-
have bandagedperfect
-
has bandagedperfect
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am bandagingprogressive
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are bandagingprogressive
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is bandagingprogressive
-
have been bandagingperfect progressive
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has been bandagingperfect progressive
Past
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bandagedsimple
-
had bandagedperfect
-
was bandagingprogressive
-
were bandagingprogressive
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had been bandagingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bandage
From Middle French, dating back to 1590–1600; see origin at band 2, -age
Explanation
A bandage is a piece of tape or cloth that's used to slow the flow of blood from a cut or another wound. Any good first aid kit is equipped with plenty of bandages. A bandage can vary from being a tiny plastic strip you stick on the spot where your cat scratched you to a thick, wide cloth that's applied to a serious injury at a hospital. You can also use it as a verb: "If I were you, I'd bandage that skinned knee so it doesn't get dirty." Bandage is a Middle French word, from the Old French bander, "to bind," and ultimately bande, "a strip."
Vocabulary lists containing bandage
Mother's Day Words: What Mothers Do
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Unit 9
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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:
Ian Wright hit the post and Italy's Christian Vieri flashed a late header just wide, but the game is arguably most remembered for images of Paul Ince's bloodied shirt and head bandage.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
Someone in the crowd applied a bandage to his head and he was quickly taken to an emergency room.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2026
These stories are harsh and brief, like a bandage ripped from a wound.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
The 34-year-old all-rounder posted a picture on Instagram last week showing his eye heavily swollen and bruised, a graze on his cheek and lip, and a bandage stuffed in his nose.
From Barron's ● Feb. 11, 2026
"I'm going to bandage it up with my handkerchief. That will stop the bleeding."
From "The Witches" by Roald Dahl
After the somewhat painful task of blood collection and a few bandages later, I mailed the sample in.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Ostrovsky said other deepfake images appeared to show him in hospital with his bandages removed, or holding an Academy Award trophy, many of which are still online today.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
In media, a great new hire or a hard-earned bit of reader goodwill are just fresh bandages placed over a wound that must be constantly treated.
From Salon ● May 6, 2026
In hospital, with her arms wrapped in bandages, Bethany Norman held onto her baby son.
From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2026
Coal pulled up his sleeve and showed them the bandages where Dr. Carroll had taken a sample of his skin and some blood.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
His nose is too small for oxygen tubes to sit comfortably so doctors have bandaged and taped them into place.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
Soon Borquez was seen walking off to get his shoulder bandaged.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2026
There was a sizeable police presence in the area and visibly shocked local residents were in the streets, including some with bandaged faces.
From Barron's ● Mar. 13, 2026
His right hand has repeatedly appeared bandaged and bruised.
From Salon ● Dec. 10, 2025
We'd see sixty, seventy soldiers in a row, Frenchmen, in horizon blue uniforms, all with eyes bandaged, walking with their hands touching the shoulder of the guy in front for direction.
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
“There were a lot of people in the background that were kind of bubblegum and bandaging everything together to make sure that there was not a single hiccup,” Goetter said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
Lifeguards at Bondi have been praised for their courage on the day of the December 14 attack, dragging people to safety, bandaging and resuscitating victims, and pulling panicked swimmers from the waves.
From Barron's ● Dec. 20, 2025
"The treatment of human wounds was most likely first mentioned in a medical manuscript that dates back to 2200 BC, which included cleaning, plastering, and bandaging of wounds with certain wound care substances," says Schuppli.
From Science Daily ● May 2, 2024
Even though I was covered in thick bandaging, my chest was now flatter than it had been in a long time.
From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2023
Diana kept her eyes on Cas as Frankie stepped into the room and started explaining how the bandaging would work once Kaitlin was free.
From "Time Bomb" by Joelle Charbonneau
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.
