Pap test
Americannoun
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a test for cancer of the cervix, consisting of the staining of cervical cells taken in a cervical or vaginal smear Pap smear, or pap smear for examination of exfoliated cells.
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a vaginal Pap smear used to evaluate estrogen levels.
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an examination of exfoliated cells in any body fluid, as sputum or urine, for cancer cells.
noun
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another name for cervical smear
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a similar test for precancerous cells in other organs
Etymology
Origin of Pap test
First recorded in 1955–60; named after George Papanicolaou (1883–1962), U.S. cytologist, born in Greece, who developed the staining method
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.
JB Lockhart, a retired office worker in Oregon, still schedules an annual Pap test even though she was told she didn’t need it.
From New York Times ● Dec. 18, 2022
The reasoning was that getting the more accurate HPV test every five years can reduce the risk of cervical cancer more effectively than a Pap test done every three.
From Scientific American ● Nov. 17, 2021
After her annual gynecological exam and mammogram several years ago at a medical center near her Virginia Beach home, she got a letter from her doctor saying the results of her Pap test were normal.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 28, 2011
If you account for population growth since the 1940s, the Pap test has reduced cervical cancer mortality by more than 90 percent.
From Slate ● Sep. 27, 2011
Many tests are less reliable: a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, for example, suggests that the well-known Pap test for cervical cancer is only 75 percent accurate.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
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.
