swathe
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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to wrap, bind, or swaddle with bands of some material; wrap up closely or fully.
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to bandage.
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to enfold or envelop, as wrappings do.
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to wrap (cloth, rope, etc.) around something.
noun
noun
verb
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to bandage (a wound, limb, etc), esp completely
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to wrap a band, garment, etc, around, esp so as to cover completely; swaddle
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to envelop
noun
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a bandage or wrapping
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a variant spelling of swath
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of swathe
before 1050; (noun) Middle English; Old English *swæth or *swath (in swathum dative plural); cf. swaddle; (v.) Middle English swathen, late Old English swathian, derivative of the noun; cognate with Old Norse svatha
Explanation
When you swathe yourself in a blanket, you are wrapping or swaddling yourself up in it. Swathe a baby up and you're creating a little cocoon where she can sleep. Sometimes spelled "swath," swathe is commonly used to talk about how you wrap up a baby in a soft blanket. The verb can also refer to binding a wound with bandages; as a noun, a swathe is a long strip or bandage to protect a wound. Swathe derives from an Old English word, swaþian, which means "to wrap."
Vocabulary lists containing swathe
Comfy Cozy Lingo
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Beowulf
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The Sea of Monsters
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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:
A wave of intense and, at times, unpredictable storms exacerbated by the El Niño weather pattern has killed dozens, shuttered major airports and wiped out crops and infrastructure across a swathe of East Asia.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
ING joins a swathe of banks that have downsized as part of structural reorganizations, resulting in thousands of job cuts worldwide.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
Autumn has been relatively calm in many areas with little in the way of disruptive weather and rainfall has remained deficient across a huge swathe of England and Wales.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
He gradually extended his authority over a swathe of the Balkans, making the Lake Prespa and Lake Ohrid region, now mostly in North Macedonia, his powerbase.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
The sea, visible ahead of her in a gray swathe only a few shades darker than the sky, moved in giant, undulating swells.
From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo
Schools were shuttered as smoke swathed the city in Nevada, near the California border, home to around 280,000 people.
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
Soprano Gabriella Reyes brought both menace and comedy to Catrina, tossing off her coloratura laughter and rocking her costume of silvery bones painted on black and swathed in tulle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026
One features sunrise-pastel walls and an angelic ceiling mural, and another is swathed in bluish gray and gold marble print paper on the walls and ceiling.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2025
Photos on social media showed them slouched on plastic chairs, swathed in plastic bags fogged up by their breath.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2025
On the winner’s stand, which was swathed in a huge American flag and crammed with suited dignitaries, Marcela smiled demurely for the lieutenant governor, who extended a huge silver loving cup.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
Masi speculates Comet Pons-Brooks’s horseshoe shape may result from shadows cast by the dusty “coma” swathing the object after the outburst.
From Scientific American ● Jul. 26, 2023
A later segment is dedicated to the art nouveau dancer Marie Louise Fuller and her efforts “to disappear inside the rigors and extravagance of her work” by swathing herself in otherworldly costumes.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 20, 2023
A cascade of blonde frames her face, flowing seamlessly into the airy tunics she wears, each a slightly grander version of those swathing her staff.
From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2021
She paints around him, maintaining intimate contact and swathing his sound in limpid harmonies.
From New York Times ● Jul. 14, 2017
Sleep enveloped him like the swathing mirages that were wrestling with the brilliance of the lagoon.
From "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding
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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.
