Pap smear

American  

[pap smeer] / ˈpæp ˈsmir /

noun

Pap smears plural

1. Medicine/Medical. a sample of cells taken from the cervix or vagina, which is then examined for pathological characteristics to screen for cervical cancer or other diseases.

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Pap smear Scientific  

/ păp /

1. A screening test, especially for cervical cancer, in which a smear of cells scraped from the cervix or vagina is treated with a chemical stain and examined under a microscope for pathological changes. Pap smears are performed routinely during gynecological exams.

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Example Sentences

HHS recommends women ages 21 through 65 get screened for cervical cancer with a Pap smear every three years.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 5, 2026

Burns, who made $11 an hour at a utility company, had a Pap smear in 2016 at South Central Primary Care Center, a community health center in Ocilla, Georgia.

From Salon • Nov. 28, 2022

The company had failed to note signs of cancer in a routine Pap smear she underwent in 2011, and which was later found to have been positive.

From New York Times • Nov. 16, 2022

Figure 4.4 These uterine cervix cells, viewed through a light microscope, were obtained from a Pap smear.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Diagnosing carcinoma in situ had only been possible since 1941, when George Papanicolaou, a Greek researcher, published a paper describing a test he’d developed, now called the Pap smear.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot