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

After high school, Lee got a job working nights hanging drapes at a textile plant as well.

From The Wall Street Journal

The sculpture’s curved, draping form looks both stiff and pliable, cartoonish and menacing.

From The Wall Street Journal

A large crowd - many wearing kippas, the Jewish skullcap, or draped in Australian flags - gathered to listen to speeches after the observing the silence.

From BBC

I ended up draping a quilt over the front end.

From The Wall Street Journal

Okuma, the actor playing the woman giving birth, sat in a chair directly behind the rig, her legs hidden by medical draping.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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