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’s probably the most complex thing in an ETF wrapper today,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
I spoke with Mr. Reynolds about how to enable a fiduciary wrapper.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
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
That has led some developers to hope that a prettier wrapper can help.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
Tats puts two rolls on the discarded wrapper off her tray and pushes it to me.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
It is used in numerous everyday products, including food wrappers, storage containers, plastic packaging, and the linings of beverage cups.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
What most Americans own is the belief that falling rates fix everything, purchased in two wrappers.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
To increase our odds, everyone in my BBC newsroom has been giving me their Coke wrappers.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
“All kinds of trash you would see floating in the ocean—food wrappers, bottles, clothing. Once in a while, you would even see a piece of crap.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026
Just a few soda cans and empty food wrappers lying around.
From "Mystery Map (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #3)" by Franklin W. Dixon
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
