wrap
Americanverb (used with object)
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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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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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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,
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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:
Treasury bond’s yield is now on pace to wrap up July with its largest monthly gain since March.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
That way, the people most closely connected to her can provide the necessary information and wrap up the remainder of her estate.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
Higher premiums for the Part D plans could push more Medicare enrollees into Medicare Advantage, the private-insurer version of Medicare, which generally wrap in drug benefits and often charge no premiums at all.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
"That's a wrap on Manila. Thank you for welcoming me, my countrymen," she said in an Instagram story.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
As if that cast couldn’t make his foot any hotter in August, I had to wrap it in plastic.
From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen
Still, the streaming giant seems to be focusing mainly on the edges of production -- from visualizing a concept early on to color-grading footage after filming wraps.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
Customers are still approaching Dialog Cafe for their usual orders of breakfast burritos, lattes, wraps and cookies, many of which have gone viral on social media in recent years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
That’s because new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh is likely to keep any insight about how close the Fed is to tightening its monetary policy under wraps, experts say.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
Apart from what Swift's representative revealed, details about the event have been kept under wraps.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
And Byrd wraps herself up in her own arms, wraps her words up inside her, too.
From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers
Sylvia Phillips was discovered wrapped in a leopard print silk blanket, with yellow and pink roses placed on her body, as well as a birthday card signed from him and the family dog Tina.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
Two years from now, the Olympics will have just wrapped up with the Paralympics on the horizon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
A two-week trial over this system, and over the state’s broader refusal to air-condition its prisons, wrapped up on April 9 in Pitman’s Austin courtroom.
From Slate ● Jul. 31, 2026
As Jersey Mike’s Subs wrapped up its first day as a public company, its CEO said the sandwich chain needs to do more to attract younger customers amid a tough stretch for the restaurant industry.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
Careful not to ring it, I wrapped the old sheet around and around the clapper till it was stuffed tight within the bell.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
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
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 Headley, Joel Tyler
He was so wrapt up in his task, as to stay from school.
From Curiosities of Human Nature by Anonymous
Philosophy to him, however, is no gloomy subject; no solemn stalking about wrapt up in his own stately ideas, and scorning, with cynic’s eye, any harmless mirth.
From Antigua and the Antiguans, Volume I (of 2) A full account of the colony and its inhabitants from the time of the Caribs to the present day by Anonymous
His boy ill, little Bertie, in whose life her very soul had seemed wrapt? and she could stand and speak of it so coldly, so calmly as this?
From It May Be True, Vol. III (of III) by Wood, Mrs. Henry
"Everybody is still wrapping their head around it," said Mike Mosallam, COO of production company Shadowbox Studios, in an interview with Variety as recently 2025.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
The company previously said it would be wrapping on the launch of the z17 in the latest quarter, and infrastructure revenue would be down low-single digits for the year beginning this quarter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
The problem was the launch of the z17 mainframe program, which the company expected to be wrapping up during the second quarter.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
The beginnings of “Stuart” trace back to when “Big Bang Theory” was wrapping up its run and Lorre casually asked Sussman to keep him posted on what he was doing next, but didn’t elaborate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
I tear the wrapping paper off my present, hoping whatever’s inside will prove how well Dad knows me, how proud he is of me, something.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
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.
