bandage
Americannoun
-
bandages
plural
verb (used with object)
-
bandages,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bandaged,
past participle, past
-
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
-
am bandagingprogressive
-
are bandagingprogressive
-
is bandagingprogressive
-
have been bandagingperfect progressive
-
has been bandagingperfect progressive
Past
-
bandagedsimple
-
had bandagedperfect
-
was bandagingprogressive
-
were bandagingprogressive
-
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
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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:
That’s when you can think about ripping off the bandage and converting funds to Roth with an eye to the tax rate of the next generation.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 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
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
“By the time it was finished, there wasn’t one bandage left in either of the clubs,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 15, 2025
Håkon pulled the bandage down his arm, exposing his scales.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
When her bandages are unwrapped, she’s devastated to learn that her face is still symmetrical, with a thin nose, unblemished skin, and full lips.
From Slate ● Sep. 2, 2026
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
"I told myself, I'm going to sleep," Canonico recalled, up to her elbows in bandages following the ordeal.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
In Pasadena, volunteers at the restaurant Chamo Venezuelan Cuisine collected supplies, issuing a special plea for bandages, gauze, painkillers and other over-the-counter medicines.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
Once the bandages finally came off, he had a scar that looked like a zipper that ran from the back of his head to the bottom of his neck.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
Caluori posted a picture on social media in July of himself in a hospital bed with a heavily bandaged right wrist.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 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
He played with a small cast on his left hand and was even using that bandaged appendage to stiff-arm defenders.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2025
She elevated his leg, bandaged it, then sat on the floor beside him.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
“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
"They said I was untreatable. They kept bandaging me up and then unbandaging it," Shamiam says.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2024
"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
“And tear something into strips for bandaging his head.”
From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
