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wrap

verb · noun

Simple meaning

Crash into so as to coil around.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

rap
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɹæp

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. Enclose or enfold completely with or as if with a covering

  2. transitive

    To enclose (an object) completely in any flexible, thin material such as fabric or paper.

  3. transitive

    To enclose or coil around an object or organism, as a form of grasping.

  4. Crash into so as to coil around

    “The teenager wrapped his car around the fire hydrant.”

  5. Arrange or or coil around

  6. transitivefigurative

    To conceal by enveloping or enfolding; to hide.

noun

  1. A type of food consisting of various ingredients wrapped in a tortilla or pancake.

  2. Paper or sheeting that is wrapped around something to protect, contain, or conceal it.

  3. A loose piece of women's clothing that one wraps around the body; a shawl or scarf.

  4. Australiainformal

    A sharp blow with something hard.

  5. Cloak that is folded or wrapped around a person

  6. The covering (usually paper or cellophane) in which something is wrapped

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Enclose or enfold completely with or as if with a covering

Used this way, wrap is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use wrap

  • “Wrap the baby before taking her out.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Enclose

plastic wrap

Break

text wrap

Other combinations

word wrapgift wrapsaran wrap

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • wrappingnounInflected form

    The covering (usually paper or cellophane) in which something is wrapped.

  • wrappedadjectiveInflected form

    Enclosed securely in a covering of paper or the like.

  • wrappernounInflected form

    A loose dressing gown for women.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • wrap upverbCompound term

    Arrange or fold as a cover or protection.

  • wrapping papernounCompound term

    A tough paper used for wrapping.

  • shrink-wrapped softwarenounCompound term

    Software on CD-ROMs that are boxed and shrink-wrapped and sold in stores (implying a widely supported standard platform).

  • dust wrappernounCompound term

    A paper jacket for a book.

  • gift-wrapverbCompound term

    Wrap (a gift) attractively.

  • gift wrappingnounCompound term

    Ornamental wrapping for gifts.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: enclose or enfold completely with

Antonyms

verb

Sense: enclose or enfold completely with

unwrapTechnical

noun

Sense: type of food consisting of various ingredients wrapped in a tortilla

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.