bandage

UK /ˈbæn.dɪdʒ/ US /ˈbæn.dɪdʒ/ Syllables: ban-dage

Pronunciation

Noun A1 Beginner Neutral

A strip of material used to wrap around a wound or injury.

A bandage is a strip of soft material that you wrap around a wound or an injury to protect it or to hold something in place. A nurse puts a bandage on a cut, and a runner wraps a bandage around a sore ankle. A bandage keeps dirt out and can press on a wound to stop bleeding. Some bandages are sticky strips, and some are long rolls of cloth. As a verb, to bandage a wound means to cover it with one.

"She wrapped a bandage around her ankle after twisting it."

Example sentences

"The nurse put a bandage on his knee."

Level A2
"She wrapped a bandage around her sore wrist."

Level A2
"Keep the bandage clean and dry."

Level A2
"The first aid kit has bandages and tape."

Level A2

Look-alikes and common mistakes

plaster : Plaster is the British word for a small sticky bandage. A bandage is a longer strip that is wrapped around.
dressing : A dressing is the pad that covers a wound. A bandage holds it in place.

Word family and forms

Forms: bandages

band bandaged bandaging band-aid

Word partners

Words and phrases that often go with "bandage".

put on a bandage
wrap a bandage
a bandage on the knee
a sticky bandage
an elastic bandage
a bandage roll

Origin

Bandage was borrowed into English in the 1590s from French bandage, built from the French word bande, a strip, and the ending -age. It replaced an old English word for a strip of cloth.

Checked against: Wiktionary, the free dictionary, Dictionary.com.

How to remember it

Bandage has band inside it. A bandage is a band that you tie around a wound.

Test yourself

Which word fits the gap? "The nurse put a _____ on his knee."

Answer: bandage

In your own words, what does "bandage" mean?