drape
Americanverb (used with object)
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drapes,
present (3rd person singular)
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draped,
past participle, past
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draping
present participle
-
to cover or hang with cloth or other fabric, especially in graceful folds; adorn with drapery.
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to adjust (curtains, clothes, etc.) into graceful folds, attractive lines, etc.
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to arrange, hang, or let fall carelessly.
Don't drape your feet over the chair!
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Medicine/Medical, Surgery. to place cloth so as to surround (a part to be examined, treated, or operated upon).
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(in reinforced-concrete construction) to hang (reinforcement) in a certain form between two points before pouring the concrete.
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to put a black cravat on (a flagstaff ) as a token of mourning.
verb (used without object)
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drapes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
draped,
past participle, past
-
draping
present participle
noun
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drapes
plural
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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.
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either of a pair of similar curtains extending or draped at the sides of a window, French doors, or the like as decoration.
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manner or style of hanging.
the drape of a skirt.
verb
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(tr) to hang or cover with flexible material or fabric, usually in folds; adorn
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to hang or arrange or be hung or arranged, esp in folds
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(tr) to place casually and loosely; hang
she draped her arm over the back of the chair
noun
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(often plural) a cloth or hanging that covers something in folds; drapery
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the way in which fabric hangs
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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drapesimple
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drapessimple
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have drapedperfect
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has drapedperfect
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am drapingprogressive
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are drapingprogressive
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is drapingprogressive
-
have been drapingperfect progressive
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has been drapingperfect progressive
Past
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drapedsimple
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had drapedperfect
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was drapingprogressive
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were drapingprogressive
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had been drapingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of drape
1400–50; late Middle English < Middle French draper, derivative of drap cloth ( see drab 1)
Explanation
The drape of fabric or material is the way it looks — the shape it takes — when it's hanging. If you're sewing a dress, you need to use fabric with the right sort of drape. You can describe the drape of a piece of velvet or cotton — and you can also use drape to mean "curtain." You could even say, "I just love the drape of those drapes!" When drape is a verb, it means "to cover loosely," as when you drape a quilt over your old sofa to hide its the rips and stains. In the 1940s and 50s, drape was also a slang term for a cool suit of clothes.
Vocabulary lists containing drape
I Survived the Destruction of Pompeii, AD 79
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I Survived the Japanese Tsunami, 2011
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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:
And I agree it should be socially acceptable to drape oneself in velvet External link.
From Barron's ● Dec. 31, 2025
Uphill from the swollen Wenatchee River, 62-year-old Lisa Hart sat in her recently deceased parents’ kitchen, watching friends drape a tarp over the roof.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 21, 2025
When Harbaugh didn’t have anyone to throw to, he would drape that tarp over a goal post and throw into it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2025
Sometimes the agents would stage mannequins in the passenger seats, or drape curtains over the windshield, or put a bag over their heads to avoid being photographed.
From Slate ● Oct. 27, 2025
“Why didn’t you drape it over the rod in the hall closet?”
From "When You Reach Me" by Rebecca Stead
Randles added: "Once you've knitted with it and washed it, it drapes beautifully whereas sometimes when you knitting with synthetic it doesn't drape but this stuff does."
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
Posting a video of the room’s remote-controlled drapes opening one morning, the Olympian revealed that she had asked interior designer Diamond Hadley to create the kind of ambiance typically found at a high-end resort.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026
“It was an annihilation,” said Bryan Basler, a 45-year-old resident who drapes a “No Data Center” banner over his pickup truck.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026
Wilson believes that Snow Secure—the high-tech insulated polystyrene blanket that unfolds like an accordion, then drapes over a pile of snow—is just the invention.
From Slate ● Apr. 11, 2026
Before the sessions, the sisters began to ask that drapes be drawn—the spirits preferred darkness.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Jubilant crowds gathered outside the airport to catch a glimpse of the passengers when they landed, singing and dancing while draped in Israeli flags.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
This was the 49th day of consecutive protests, and there were still many thousands of people turning out each night, draped in Albanian flags.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
Branches were draped with colourful ribbons and ritual wreaths, while bonfires blazed high, ready for the military brotherhood to gather around them.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
Flags from all over the Caribbean and Africa have been hung from the windows of the houses and are draped over the shoulders of people passing by.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
She had at least six beaded bracelets on each arm, seven or eight necklaces draped around her neck, and plastic rings on every finger.
From "Trouble at the Arcade (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #1)" by Franklin W. Dixon
Stop AI was plotting its next stunt, draping banners from the top of the Golden Gate Bridge, when Kirchner and Allen got into a screaming match over the wording, Allen and other members say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
Supporters waved Egyptian flags and Palestinian flags in support of nearby Gaza, as well as a poster of coach Hossam Hossan draping both flags over himself during the tournament.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
The outlet reported that workers have been draping the entire arena in fabric since Monday to transform the space.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
In 1967, his black evening gown with cape radiated simplicity in form and draping even as it also referenced the attire of Catholic priests.
From Salon ● May 17, 2026
With Beck draping an arm over Athans’s shoulders and Burleson grasping the Texan’s climbing harness tightly from behind, they shuffled carefully down the mountain.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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.
