wrapper
Americannoun
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wrappers
plural
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a person or thing that wraps.
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a covering or cover.
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a long, loose outer garment.
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a loose bathrobe; negligee.
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British. book jacket.
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the tobacco leaf used for covering a cigar.
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Armor. a supplementary beaver reinforcing the chin and mouth area of an armet of the 15th century.
noun
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the cover, usually of paper or cellophane, in which something is wrapped
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a dust jacket of a book
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the ripe firm tobacco leaf forming the outermost portion of a cigar and wound around its body
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a loose negligee or dressing gown, esp in the 19th century
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of wrapper
late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; see origin at wrap, -er 1
Explanation
A wrapper is any kind of loose cover that encloses something that's for sale. The brightly colored paper that covers your candy bar is a wrapper. If you wrap something in foil or plastic to sell it, you've made a wrapper. Many wrappers are factory-made and sealed, like the wrapper on your ice cream bar, while others protect your fast-food burger or deli sandwich. In some places, people call a dressing gown or robe a wrapper too. No matter how you use the word, a wrapper wraps something. Its earliest use, in the 15th century, was as "a piece of fine cloth used to wrap bread."
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:
It features the base of an old sewing machine pasted over with a cigar box wrapper and the oft-reoccurring theme of a moon, sun and stars.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
By stripping away that maturity safety net, the ETF wrapper can leave investors with continuous exposure to interest-rate volatility and turn what’s designed to be an inflation shield into a more speculative market trade.
From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026
Cutting back on the amount of chocolate while having the same kind of wrapper meant that customers were being misled, Bremen regional court ruled.
From BBC ● May 13, 2026
“You’ve got people coming in and doing things with the ETF wrapper that were probably not foreseen in any way.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026
“Here,” she’d said, and Izzy had known what it was before she even felt the crinkle of the plastic wrapper in her palm.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
What most Americans own is the belief that falling rates fix everything, purchased in two wrappers.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
A spokesperson for Kingston Council said current regulations restricted plastic fencing and visitors were asked to remove cellophane wrappers from flowers.
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026
This visual history of the World Cup from 1930 to present day shows iconic moments from the sport staged with vivid detail, and is brought to life by Barrois’ miniature figures made from gum wrappers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 23, 2026
Day carries a small backpack or purse for the plastic bottles, wrappers and napkins that she accumulates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 1, 2026
I really didn't want to put my hand in there among the scraps of paper and pens and pencils and stray peppermints and gum wrappers.
From "It All Comes Down to This" by Karen English
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.
