q-tip
q-tip is the alternative form of Q-tip.
Noun capitalized: Q-tip
Q-tip (plural Q-tips)
- A cotton swab consisting of short, thin, flexible plastic rods with a swab of cotton/cotton wool at each end; they are typically used for cleaning the ears and other hard-to-reach places.
Verb capitalized: Q-tip
Q-tip (third-person singular simple present Q-tips, present participle Q-tipping, simple past and past participle Q-tipped)
- To clean with a Q-tip.
- He disposed of his black outfit, doomed to incineration, and took a quick antimicrobial-enhanced shower […] lathering his face, sanctifying his pits, and Q-tipping his pointy ears.2013, Margaret Atwood, MaddAddam, Bloomsbury, page 310
- Synonyms:
- cotton wool bud
Synonyms of q-tip
Forms of q-tip
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | q-tips |
| plural | Q-tips |
| alternative form | q-tip |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | Q-tips |
| present participle | Q-tipping |
| past participle | Q-tipped |
| past | Q-tipped |
Origin of q-tip
American genericization from the brand name coined (and registered as the trademark "Q-TIPS") by Unilever; see tip. Q stands for quality.
Questions about q-tip
- What does q-tip mean?
- Q-tip means a cotton swab consisting of short, thin, flexible plastic rods with a swab of cotton/cotton wool at each end; they are typically used for cleaning the ears and other hard-to-reach places.
- What is q-tip the alternative form of?
- Q-tip is the alternative form of Q-tip.
- What part of speech is q-tip?
- Q-tip can be a noun or a verb.
- What is the plural of q-tip?
- The plural of q-tip is q-tips.
Words near q-tip in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: q-tip (page history and authors); Q-tip (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Q-tip.wav.
Cite this entry: “q-tip.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/q-tip. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.