What does "drape" mean?
A curtain; a drapery.
Drape
/dɹeɪp/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A curtain; a drapery.
- Grammar: drape is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: curtain, drapery, adorn, apparel.
- Useful contrasts: bare window, contaminated cloth, expose.
- Usage evidence: You can always drape your jacket over your chair if you need a place to put it.
How to use "drape"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "drape" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "drape" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "drape" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "drape" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "drape" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "curtain" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "drape", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A curtain; a drapery.
- 2 hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window) wordnet
- 3 The way in which fabric falls or hangs.
- 4 a sterile covering arranged over a patient's body during a medical examination or during surgery in order to reduce the possibility of contamination wordnet
- 5 A member of a youth subculture distinguished by its sharp dress, especially peg-leg pants (1950s: e.g. Baltimore, MD). Antonym: square. US
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 the manner in which fabric hangs or falls wordnet
- 7 A dress made from an entire piece of cloth, without having pieces cut away as in a fitted garment.
Verb
- 1 To cover or adorn with drapery or folds of cloth, or as with drapery. transitive
"to drape a bust, a building, etc."
- 2 arrange in a particular way wordnet
- 3 To spread over, cover. transitive
"I draped my towel over the radiator to dry."
- 4 place casually wordnet
- 5 To rail at; to banter.
"1672-679, William Temple, Memoirs At my Arrival , the King asked me many questions about my Journey, about the Congress, draping us for spending him so money"
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 cover or dress loosely with cloth wordnet
- 7 To make cloth.
- 8 cover as if with clothing wordnet
- 9 To design drapery, arrange its folds, etc., as for hangings, costumes, statues, etc.
- 10 To hang or rest limply.
"I draped myself elegantly over the couch."
Example
"You can always drape your jacket over your chair if you need a place to put it."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "drape"?
Common synonyms include: curtain, drapery, adorn, apparel, array, attire.
How do you use "drape" in a sentence?
You can always drape your jacket over your chair if you need a place to put it.
How do you pronounce "drape"?
Pronounced /dɹeɪp/.
Etymology
From Middle English drape (“a drape”, noun), from Old French draper (“to drape; to full cloth”), from drap (“cloth, drabcloth”), from Late Latin drappus, drapus (“drabcloth, kerchief”), a word first recorded in the Capitularies of Charlemagne, probably from Frankish *drapi, *drāpi (“that which is fulled, drabcloth”, literally “that which is struck or for striking”), from Proto-Germanic *drapiz (“a strike, hit, blow”) and Proto-Germanic *drēpiz (“intended for striking, to be beaten”), both from *drepaną (“to beat, strike”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreb- (“to beat, crush, make or become thick”). Cognate with English drub (“to beat”), North Frisian dreep (“a blow”), Low German drapen, dräpen (“to strike”), German treffen (“to meet”), Swedish dräpa (“to slay”). More at drub.