SHEATH

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does sheath mean? 

• SHEATH (noun)
  The noun SHEATH has 3 senses:

1. a protective covering (as for a knife or sword)

2. an enveloping structure or covering enclosing an animal or plant organ or part

3. a dress suitable for formal occasions

  Familiarity information: SHEATH used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SHEATH (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A protective covering (as for a knife or sword)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("sheath" is a kind of...):

protection; protective cover; protective covering (a covering that is intend to protect from damage or injury)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sheath"):

aglet; aiglet (metal or plastic sheath over the end of a shoelace or ribbon)

cot; fingerstall (a sheath worn to protect a finger)

holster (a sheath (usually leather) for carrying a handgun)

scabbard (a sheath for a sword or dagger or bayonet)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An enveloping structure or covering enclosing an animal or plant organ or part

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

case; sheath

Hypernyms ("sheath" is a kind of...):

cover; covering; natural covering (a natural object that covers or envelops)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sheath"):

theca (outer sheath of the pupa of certain insects)

lorica (a hard protective sheath (as secreted by certain protoctists, for example))

medullary sheath; myelin sheath (a layer of myelin encasing (and insulating) the axons of medullated nerve fibers)

neurilemma; neurolemma (thin membranous sheath around a nerve fiber)

husk (outer membranous covering of some fruits or seeds)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A dress suitable for formal occasions

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

cocktail dress; sheath

Hypernyms ("sheath" is a kind of...):

dress; frock (a one-piece garment for a woman; has skirt and bodice)

 Context examples 

The individual tumor cells are surrounded by reticulin everywhere, are negative for muscle, nerve sheath, and epithelial markers, and are positive for CD34 and CD99.

(Hemangiopericytoma, NCI Thesaurus)

A benign neoplasm arising from nerve sheaths.

(Neurothekeoma, NCI Thesaurus)

Benign and malignant neoplasms that arise from the optic nerve or its sheath.

(Optic Nerve Neoplasm, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

A dendritic cell found in the paracortex that captures blood-borne antigens in peripheral tissues and transports them to the periarteriolar lymphoid sheath where initial B and T cell activation takes place.

(Interdigitating Dendritic Cell, NCI Thesaurus)

Damage to this sheath slows down or blocks messages between the brain and the rest of the body.

(Leukodystrophies, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

A benign or malignant neoplasm arising from the perineural cells in the sheaths surrounding the nerves.

(Nerve Sheath Neoplasm, NCI Thesaurus)

A malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor occurring in children.

(Childhood Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor, NCI Thesaurus)

A benign or malignant neoplasm arising from a peripheral nerve or the perineural sheaths.

(Peripheral Nervous System Neoplasm, NCI Thesaurus)

A meningioma that affects the sheath of the optic nerve.

(Optic Nerve Sheath Meningioma, NCI Thesaurus)

“What make you, Alleyne, of these black lines which are drawn across the sheath?”

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)