wrap
Americanverb (used with object)
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wraps,
present (3rd person singular)
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wrapped,
past participle, past
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wrapt,
past participle, past
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wrapping
present participle
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to enclose in something wound or folded about (often followed byup ).
She wrapped her head in a scarf.
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to enclose and make fast (an article, bundle, etc.) within a covering of paper or the like (often followed byup ).
He wrapped the package up in brown paper.
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to wind, fold, or bind (something) about as a covering.
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to protect with coverings, outer garments, etc. (usually followed byup ).
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to cover (fingernails) with a sheer silk or linen fabric, as to repair or strengthen them.
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to surround, envelop, shroud, or hide.
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to fold or roll up.
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Movies, Television. to finish the filming of (a motion picture).
verb (used without object)
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wraps,
present (3rd person singular)
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wrapped,
past participle, past
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wrapt,
past participle, past
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wrapping
present participle
-
to wrap oneself (usually followed byup ).
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to become wrapped, enclosed, packaged, or folded (usually followed byup ).
This hat wraps up into a pocket-size square—perfect for hiking and camping.
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Movies, Television. to complete the filming of a motion picture.
We hope to wrap in time for Christmas.
noun
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wraps
plural
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something to be wrapped about the person, especially in addition to the usual indoor clothing, such as a shawl.
an evening wrap.
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a beauty treatment in which a part or all of the body is covered with cream, lotion, herbs, or the like and then wrapped snugly with cloth.
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a sheer silk or linen fabric glued to the fingernails to repair or strengthen them.
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a flatbread wrapped around a filling and eaten as a sandwich.
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Movies, Television.
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the completion of photography on a film or an individual scene.
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the termination of a working day during the shooting of a film.
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adjective
verb phrase
idioms
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wrapped up in,
-
intensely absorbed in.
wrapped up in one's work.
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involved in; bound up with.
Peace is wrapped up in willingness to compromise.
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under wraps, secret.
The army wants this research project kept under wraps.
verb
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to fold or wind (paper, cloth, etc) around (a person or thing) so as to cover
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(often foll by up) to fold paper, etc, around to fasten securely
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to surround or conceal by surrounding
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to enclose, immerse, or absorb
wrapped in sorrow
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to fold, wind, or roll up
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(intr; often foll by about, around, etc) to be or become wound or extended
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to complete the filming of (a motion picture or television programme)
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Also called: rap. informal (often foll by up) to praise (someone)
noun
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a garment worn wrapped around the body, esp the shoulders, such as a shawl or cloak
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short for wrapround
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a type of sandwich consisting of a tortilla wrapped round a filling
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wrapping or a wrapper
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slang a small package of an illegal drug in powder form
a wrap of heroin
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Also called: rap. informal a commendation
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the end of a working day during the filming of a motion picture or television programme
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the completion of filming of a motion picture or television programme
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to keep secret
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to reveal
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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prewrapnoun
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underwrapnoun
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rewrapverb
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prewrapverb (used with object)
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underwrapverb (used with object)
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interwrapverb (used without object)
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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wrapsimple
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wrapssimple
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have wrappedperfect
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have wraptperfect
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has wrappedperfect
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has wraptperfect
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am wrappingprogressive
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are wrappingprogressive
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is wrappingprogressive
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have been wrappingperfect progressive
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has been wrappingperfect progressive
Past
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wrappedsimple
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wraptsimple
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had wrappedperfect
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had wraptperfect
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was wrappingprogressive
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were wrappingprogressive
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had been wrappingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of wrap
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English wrappen, of obscure origin; compare dialectal Danish vravle to wind
Explanation
To wrap something is to enclose it, like when you wrap holiday presents in glittery paper. When you're done with the presents, you can wrap yourself in a cozy blanket while you drink hot chocolate. Wrap also has a number of noun meanings. There's the wrap you wear, which is similar to a cloak or a shawl. There's also the plastic wrap you use to cover a bowl of leftovers, and the wrap you make when you fold a tortilla around sandwich fillings. The verb wrap came first, from a root meaning "to turn or wind." To wrap something up also means to end it, so let's wrap up this blurb by saying, "That's a wrap!" — it's what movie directors since the 1920s have been saying when filming is finished.
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:
You’re trying to wrap up a work call while bagging your kid’s outgrown clothes when a ping comes in from a parent chat — soccer registration just opened and spots are filling fast.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
The “Bad Romance” singer and 16-time Grammy winner was seen wearing a large ring and holding the child, supported by a baby wrap, tightly to her chest, according to photos published by the outlet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026
He will wrap up the tour with three further nights at the stadium next August.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
The day before that, she gave a bulky chicken Caesar wrap in Minnesota a 9.5, one of her highest-ever scores.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
I wrap my arms around my stomach like I just got kicked in the gut.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio wraps up a whirlwind tour of Latin America in Peru on Thursday, deepening cooperation with a new bloc of conservative governments and pressing the fight against regional drug cartels.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
But even by Telluride standards, organizers went to unusual lengths this year to keep their biggest surprise under wraps.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
Amazon also wraps its four processors in far more memory and storage.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026
This isn’t actually Dyson’s first move into consumer packaged goods: It makes hair-care products designed to be used with its hair dryers and hair wraps.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
I climb under, feeling the warmth of the material, and of him, as he wraps both his arm and the woven cotton around me.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
They chalk it up to marketing wrapped in false alarmism.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
Skubal wrapped up his deepest start of his Dodgers tenure to a standing ovation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
As von der Leyen wrapped up a two-day visit to the vast island, she said Europe would "be more present and to be more engaged in Greenland and in the Arctic".
From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026
Elissa and Johnnie say their "forever home" - now wrapped in scaffolding and stripped back to bare breeze block - has become a nightmare.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
I’m pretty sure it’s the feeling of my heart breaking as I allow the shield of lies that I wrapped around it, protecting it for so long, to dissolve the rest of the way away.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
While inland China was wrapt in its customary slumber, the coast provinces, from Kwangtung to Chihli, effervesced in a variety of bubbles.
From Time Magazine Archive
"I believe her whole soul is wrapt up in you, and I thank God that it is so, my son."
From It May Be True, Vol. III (of III) by Mrs. Henry Wood
He begins with Childhood—mind wrapt up in itself.
From Hegel's Philosophy of Mind by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
The Countess did not notice how the minutes sped by, lengthening into hours as she sat there, wrapt in contemplation.
From Fickle Fortune by Elisabeth Burstenbinder (AKA E. Werner)
This original and daring cruise was no sooner decided upon than he turned his prow southward, and was soon wrapt in the storms that sweep Cape Horn.
From The Second War with England, Vol. 2 of 2 by Joel Tyler Headley
The court also heard police found a crossbow in the attic of his property, which was still in its wrapping.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
What are you energetically wrapping up right now?
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
NBA commissioner Adam Silver says the investigation into whether the Clippers circumvented the salary cap through an endorsement deal for Kawhi Leonard is wrapping up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
The demonstration came as the first round of US-backed talks between Venezuela's interim government and parts of the opposition was wrapping up.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
And it must be, because he launches forward, wrapping his arms around my torso in a rib-crushing hug.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
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.
