Bandage: The Strip That Covers a Wound
A bandage is a strip of material wrapped around an injury. It also names any quick fix that hides a problem without curing it.
A bandage is a length of cloth or gauze bound over a wound to protect it or hold a dressing in place. Strictly, the dressing touches the wound and the bandage holds it there. In everyday speech the two words get swapped, and nobody minds.
- A strip binding an injury. *She wound a bandage around his wrist.*
- To bind with such a strip (verb). *They bandaged the cut and sent him home.*
- A temporary and inadequate fix. *The grant is a bandage, not a solution.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | bandage | A clean bandage. |
| Verb | bandage | Bandage the ankle firmly. |
| Past | bandaged | His head was bandaged. |
| Related | dressing | A sterile dressing. |
| Related | bandaging | Correct bandaging technique. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Keep the bandage dry for two days.Standard aftercare instruction.
- He arrived with his arm bandaged to the elbow.Bandaged as a past participle describing state.
- The reform is a bandage over a much deeper problem.Figurative — covering rather than curing.
Kinds of bandage
- Adhesive bandage — a small sticking plaster, called a Band-Aid in North America
- Crepe bandage — stretchy, used for sprains and support
- Compression bandage — applies pressure to reduce swelling
- Triangular bandage — folded into a sling for an arm
From French *bandage*, from *bande*, a strip or band. The same root gives band, ribbon and bandeau, all of them narrow strips of material doing different jobs.
Bandage or plaster?
In British English a plaster is the small adhesive strip and a bandage is the longer wrapped one. Americans say Band-Aid and bandage.
Is bandaid used figuratively?
Yes, especially in American English: a band-aid solution is one that covers a problem without fixing it.