wrap

present singular third person wraps · participle present wrapping · participle past wrapped · past wrapped · archaic participle past wrapt · archaic past wrapt · alternative wrop

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

   Christmas gifts are commonly known to be wrapped in paper.

   1 more example

   I then dried these over a flame, and then, wrapping the formes and re-sealing them with my court seals — for my only commission, you see, was to report as to whether the type was unpied, and text ungarbled, and the formes all ready […]

   1947, Harry Stephen Keeler, The Case of the Barking Clock

   Synonyms: bind, wind, enfold, lap, enswathe, envelop

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

   A snake wraps itself around its prey.

   2 more examples

   Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch / About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.

   1811, William Cullen Bryant, Thanatopsis

   The prehistoric caribou they had already liberated was wrapped in a space blanket and carefully tied to a sled. The Science Foundation team had then moved on to a deep translucent blue seam in the ice that proved to be a window on the rest of the ungulant herd standing poised in suspended animation, as if waiting for time to start again.

   2003, Gary Tigerman, The Orion Protocol, New York, N.Y.: William Morrow, →ISBN, page 143

3. figurativelytransitiveTo conceal by enveloping or enfolding; to hide.

   wise poets that wrap truth in tales

   a. 1640, Thomas Carew, Ingrateful Beauty Threatened

4. intransitivetransitivevideo productionTo finish shooting (filming) a video, television show, or movie.

   To avoid going over budget, let's make sure we wrap by ten. (compare wrap up 2)

5. transitiveusuallylines; words; text; lines; words; textTo break a continuous line (of text) onto the next line

   I wrapped the text so that I wouldn't need to scroll to the right to read it.

6. transitivecomputingTo make functionality available through a software wrapper.
7. intransitivetransitiveTo (cause to) reset to an original value after passing a maximum.

   The row counter wraps back to zero when no more rows can be inserted.

plural wraps

1. countableuncountablePaper or sheeting that is wrapped around something to protect, contain, or conceal it.
   1. countableuncountableautomotiveA large sheet of self-adhesive material applied over a vehicle's paintwork for decorative or protective purposes.

      The media theorist Peter Lunenfeld[…] says illustrative art is often used to defang threatening technology. He compares the Waymo wraps to Google Doodles, which distract people while they are using a complex and opaque search engine algorithm that is “almost fully beyond our ken.”

      2025 December 9, Jori Finkel, “How Art Is Driving Waymo’s Feel-Good Branding”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC

2. countableuncountableA loose piece of women's clothing that one wraps around the body; a shawl or scarf.
3. archaiccountablein pluraluncountableAn outer garment worn as protection while riding, travelling etc.

   ‘I see you have had our Lowick Cicero here,’ she said, seating herself comfortably, throwing back her wraps, and showing a thin but well-built figure.

   1872, George Eliot, Middlemarch, Book I, chapter 6

4. countableuncountableA type of food consisting of various ingredients wrapped in a tortilla or pancake.
5. countableuncountableentertainmentThe completion of all or a major part of a performance.

   But she could knock off right after the wrap, have dinner, and take a later flight.

   1994, Olivia Goldsmith, Fashionably Late

   2 more examples

   The first time I met him is when we went to the – after the wrap party, we went to a little sound room – or a little screening room and watched the preview

   2003 January 12, “Encore Presentation: Interview With the Bee Gees”, in CNN_KingWknd

   And that's a wrap on "News Watch." For Judy, Jim, Cal and Kirsten, I'm Jon Scott. We'll see you again next week.'

   2009 November 14, Fox News Watch

6. countableuncountableA wraparound mortgage.
7. countableuncountablebroadcastingA complete news report ready for broadcast, incorporating spoken reporting and other material.

   Attend a news conference, and prepare a wrap or package.

   2005, Ted White, Broadcast News: Writing, Reporting, and Producing, page 245

   1 more example

   This is a news report from the scene of the event. When a voicer and an actuality are combined into one complete story, it's known as a wrap.

   2005, Alan R. Stephenson, David E. Reese, Mary E. Beadle, Broadcast Announcing Worktext, page 164

   Synonyms: package

8. countableuncountableThe act of wrapping.

   Give the present a quick wrap before James sees it.

   1 more example

   I started out by wrapping the first thread around a ruler for 1 inch and found that it had 24 wraps to the inch.

   2026, Tom Knisley, “Exploring S- and Z-Twist”, in Spin Off, volume L, number 1, page 42

9. countableslanguncountablecard gamesA straight draw in which there are more than 8 outs to complete the straight, especially in Omaha hold 'em.

plural wraps

1. AustraliaalternativeinformalAlternative spelling of rap (“appraisal”).