1Arrange (cloth or clothing) loosely or casually on or around something.

1. 1.1Adorn, cover, or wrap (someone or something) loosely with folds of cloth.
   ‘the body was draped in a blanket’
   More example sentences

   • ‘She was squatting by the fire wrapped in scarlet cloth, her shoulders draped in a soiled blanket.’
   • ‘The fact is that on the streets of India, certainly by Western standards, most women appear to be draped, swathed and completely covered in fabric.’
   • ‘All the furniture is draped in grey blankets to make it more sophisticatedly grey.’
   • ‘They are also draped in sarees and decorated adeptly with jewels.’
   • ‘The flag should not be used as a drapery, or for covering a speakers desk, draping a platform, or for any decoration in general.’
   • ‘We've taken to draping a blanket over the sofa during the week when we are gone all day, and then throwing that in the wash once a week.’
   • ‘Mark gently removed the hand from his waist and sat up, draping the blanket onto Claire.’
   • ‘She drapes the warm blanket around his shivering skin.’
   • ‘A cozy blanket drapes your lap, electric-blue shadows flicker in the dimly lit room.’
   • ‘He drapes a blanket over me, drops a kiss on my forehead and he leaves, locking the door silently behind him.’
   • ‘He held up a blanket and draped it around my shoulders.’
   • ‘She was draped in a shimmering golden cloth that barely covered her and was held in place by a ruby pin.’
   • ‘His coffin was draped in a Union flag and was carried by six soldiers from his artillery battery.’
   • ‘At his funeral the coffin was draped with the club flag and members carried the coffin.’
   • ‘His 6'4'' body is in a coffin draped with the American flag.’
   • ‘There was at least thirty people sitting at both sides of the table, all draped in black robes.’
   • ‘Instead, he saw a tall woman, draped in rose silk.’
   • ‘The walls and beds were draped in silks and velvets.’
   • ‘Behind them a van draped with garlands crept along, its rear doors open.’
   • ‘The rest of the room was draped in a majestic red; the carpet a deep burgundy color.’
   Synonyms

   wrap, arrange, wind, swathe, sling, hang, let fall in folds

   cover, envelop, swathe, shroud, decorate, adorn, array, deck, bedeck, festoon, bundle up, muffle up, blanket, overlay, cloak, veil, wind, enfold, sheathe

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2. 1.2Let (oneself or a part of one's body) rest somewhere in a casual or relaxed way.
   ‘he draped an arm around her shoulders’
   More example sentences

   • ‘I was sleeping on my side and he'd draped himself over my body, head stretched out on the point of my shoulder, legs hanging down my back and chest.’
   • ‘While the pain explodes from his body he drapes himself over Nobantu's lap and she rubs his back just as she had rubbed his mother's leg at hospital just a few days before.’
   • ‘But I made it outside, feeling good about myself when I felt an arm drape itself across my shoulder.’
   • ‘She jumped as she felt an arm drape itself around her shoulders.’
   • ‘They quite unselfconsciously continued to drape themselves over each other; one would rest his head on the other's shoulder, the other would wrap his arms around his friend.’
   • ‘Yesterday, she came along and draped herself completely across both of my arms.’
   • ‘Dicena had cried herself out and draped herself on her mother's shoulders, arms limply dangling down Debra's back.’
   • ‘After Ben's birth, when the baby blues hit their worst low, the most physical exertion I could manage was draping myself over my ball, in a quasi-foetal position.’
   • ‘But since this would involve draping myself over couches wearing a toga and sucking grapes it would lack novelty, being all too similar to an ordinary Saturday night chez Lupin.’
   • ‘She is very strong and can pin big healthy adults to the sofa for hours on end, simply by draping herself across a belly, falling asleep, and generally being warm and fuzzy.’
   • ‘Or perhaps that's just static from the man-made fibres sported by the louche characters draping themselves across the furniture.’
   • ‘Freshly installed spouse Sophie, meanwhile, has only just stopped short of draping herself across the bonnets of sports cars in ermine and tiara.’
   • ‘They do not shrink, but stoop, draping themselves over the lip of the vase that holds them.’
   • ‘Last week two bikini models draped themselves across a couple of 1970s Nortons for a magazine fashion shoot.’
   • ‘She draped herself over me and planted a very wet kiss right on the inside of my ear (and so it was pretty loud too).’
   • ‘In between phone calls she would drape herself over the chap (who really didn't seem interested) and cackle uncontrollably whenever he made a sound.’
   • ‘Much of the time they are on screen, the girls have no lines; they just lounge about, draping themselves Siamese-cat-style over furniture, trees and one another.’
   • ‘I dragged myself onto my knees beside her to check that she hadn't broken her toe or anything serious like that, but I was little help, draping myself over her shoulder as I attempted to focus upon her foot.’
   • ‘Ugh, what was Luca doing draping himself like this on her?’
   • ‘To listen to the first disc of this double album, you need a polished wooden floor to sashay across, before draping yourself onto a sheepskin rug with a glass of the old bubbly.’
   Synonyms

   dangle, hang, suspend, let fall, droop, drop, place loosely, lean

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3. 1.3no object (of fabric) hang or be able to hang in loose, graceful folds.
   ‘velvet drapes beautifully’
   More example sentences

   • ‘The fabric draped off her diminutive form, hiding her hands and bare feet easily.’
   • ‘Black fabric draped through the halls, concealing all portraits and ornamentation.’
   • ‘On most males, the fabric will drape down from the shoulder area to provide a convenient hollow behind the hip.’
   • ‘She stepped out of the shadows, her long jet black hair reaching to her waist, a gown of fine gold fabric draping from her shoulders to her feet and leaving her slender arms bare.’
   • ‘Sarah looked inside and saw a wide double bed with hanging curtains draping onto it.’
   • ‘Crepe de chine drapes beautifully and works well for loose, bias-cut skirts, blouses and dresses.’
   • ‘The window well included about a dozen of these pillow-pods in sepia tones, some of them soft enough to drape slightly as they hung over a horizontal divider.’
   • ‘They should drape beautifully from the waist to the toes, with a clean, unbroken line running down the front of the legs.’
   • ‘It drapes geometrically, clashing beautifully with the natural world.’
   • ‘Black and red curtains draped gracefully to the floor, resplendent with fierce twining dragons.’
   • ‘The cloak draped down to her ankles, and like the cloak, it was also lined in gold.’

1drapesNorth American Long curtains.

1. 1.1A man's suit consisting of a long jacket and narrow trousers, as worn by a Teddy boy.
   ‘teds dressed in Edwardian-style drapes and suede shoes’
   More example sentences

   • ‘Rather than try and dress it up in a drape jacket, she cannot put enough emphasis on how the genre has expanded its parameters since she first trod the boards of the church halls and less salubrious venues.’
   • ‘Meanwhile Roy will be wearing a cream drape suit and creepers with leopard skin fronts.’
   • ‘I indicated the one in the pink drape coat and western string tie standing in the shadows, almost in the wings.’
2. 1.2A cloth for covering parts of a patient's body other than that part on which a surgical operation is being performed.
   ‘The circulating nurse then preps the patient, and the surgeon places the surgical drapes.’
   More example sentences

   • ‘Materials used for surgical gowns and drapes should be resistant to penetration by blood and other body fluids as necessitated by their intended use.’
   • ‘The scrub person then drapes the patient by securing a towel with an adhesive strip on the patient's forehead and placing a body drape down the entire length of the patient.’
   • ‘Researchers randomly collected reusable and single-use surgical sets containing drapes and gowns that were deemed ready for use in the OR.’
   • ‘The deceiving effect of surgical drapes, as well as various stages of intraoperative brain swelling, impairs the surgeon's orientation.’
   • ‘The surgeon and scrub person apply surgical drapes and position the suction, drill, and electrosurgical pencil on the field to be connected.’
   • ‘The surgeon and scrub person then apply the surgical drapes.’
   • ‘With the patient lying supinely, the abdomen is prepared in the usual sterile manner; surgical drapes are placed.’
   • ‘Another challenge exists if the patient's identification bracelet has been removed or is under surgical drapes.’
   • ‘One woman said she felt ‘very isolated’ during the biopsy because of the surgical drapes.’
   • ‘The scrub person and surgeon place sterile drapes over the surgical site but avoid overdraping.’
   • ‘It is important never to leave a lighted endoscope or light source lying on surgical drapes.’
   • ‘The drapes include a plastic U-shaped drape that is placed around the patient's surgical leg and a lower extremity drape.’
   • ‘In the early 1900s, the use of surgical gowns and drapes evolved as a standard of practice.’
   • ‘The perioperative team members remove the drapes and move the patient from the lithotomy to the supine position.’
   • ‘How essential are full body drapes for those procedures?’
   • ‘How vital is it for those patient drapes to be made of costly barrier-quality materials?’
   • ‘Remove the drapes from the patient to protect against burns and inhalation of toxic gases.’
   • ‘Use a clear, incise drape on the surgical site, which inadvertently helps to keep the flow of oxygen at the surgical site.’
   • ‘A cap, sterile gown, gloves, mask, and barrier drapes are needed when a catheter is placed.’

2in singular The way in which a garment or fabric hangs.