drape

[ dreyp ]

verb (used with object)

, draped, drap·ing.

1. to cover or hang with cloth or other fabric, especially in graceful folds; adorn with drapery.
2. to adjust (curtains, clothes, etc.) into graceful folds, attractive lines, etc.
3. to arrange, hang, or let fall carelessly:

   Don't drape your feet over the chair!

4. Medicine/Medical, Surgery. to place cloth so as to surround (a part to be examined, treated, or operated upon).
5. (in reinforced-concrete construction) to hang (reinforcement) in a certain form between two points before pouring the concrete.
6. to put a black cravat on (a flagstaff ) as a token of mourning.

verb (used without object)

, draped, drap·ing.

1. to hang, fall, or become arranged in folds, as drapery:

   This silk drapes well.

noun

1. a curtain or hanging of heavy fabric and usually considerable length, especially either of a pair for covering a window and drawn open and shut horizontally.
2. either of a pair of similar curtains extending or draped at the sides of a window, French doors, or the like as decoration.
3. manner or style of hanging:

   the drape of a skirt.

drape

/ dreɪp /

verb

1. tr to hang or cover with flexible material or fabric, usually in folds; adorn
2. to hang or arrange or be hung or arranged, esp in folds
3. tr to place casually and loosely; hang

   she draped her arm over the back of the chair

noun

1. often plural a cloth or hanging that covers something in folds; drapery
2. the way in which fabric hangs

Derived Forms

• ˈdrapable, adjective

Other Words From

• drapa·ble drapea·ble adjective
• drapa·bili·ty drapea·bili·ty noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of drape¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Middle French draper, derivative of drap cloth ( drab ¹ )

Word History and Origins

Origin of drape¹

C15: from Old French draper, from drap piece of cloth; see drab ¹

Example Sentences

Once gone, the chaparral and sage scrub that drape the wildest parts of Southern California are proving ominously difficult to restore.

From Los Angeles Times

Joe Drape is a Times reporter writing about how the intersection of money, power and sports impacts our culture.

From New York Times

Put me on the church steps and drape me in a veil.

From Los Angeles Times

When on heat, sometimes the part of the skin that is not touching the grill will drape lower down and fall beneath the grill lines.

From Salon

Colorful banigs, traditional Filipino sleeping mats, drape down from a nearby fence.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• cloak
• clothe
• cover
• dangle
• don
• dress
• enclose
• envelop
• fold
• hang
• sprawl
• swathe
• wrap