sideswipe

1 of 2

verb

side·​swipe ˈsīd-ˌswīp How to pronounce sideswipe (audio)
sideswiped; sideswiping; sideswipes

transitive verb

: to strike with a glancing blow along the side
sideswiped a parked car

sideswipe

2 of 2

noun

1
a
: the action of sideswiping
b
: an instance of sideswiping : a glancing blow
2
: an incidental deprecatory remark, allusion, or reference

Examples of sideswipe in a Sentence

Verb The taxi sideswiped a parked car. Noun She took a sideswipe at the senator's voting record.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Melissa presented the pièce de résistance, sideswiping a wall in a downtown parking garage after work, smashing the bumper and a front fender. Maria Garriott, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Mar. 2024 The idea was put to the test in 2007, when a 926-foot cargo ship, the Cosco Busan, sideswiped a support on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 26 Feb. 2024 Police said the crash began when a 2020 Jeep Cherokee ran a red light and sideswiped the front of another vehicle at the intersection of 18th and Olive Streets, according to CBS affiliate KMOV and NBC affiliate KSDK. Abigail Adams, Peoplemag, 15 Feb. 2024 Beginning around six billion years ago, a dwarf galaxy named Sagittarius sideswiped the Milky Way and swung around it. Ann Finkbeiner, Scientific American, 16 Jan. 2024 The war in Gaza — coupled with ongoing hostilities in Ukraine — could sideswipe global growth. David J. Lynch, Washington Post, 9 Jan. 2024 There was also an incident where a Waymo got sideswiped by another vehicle changing lanes. Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica, 1 Sep. 2023 The officer pursued the man, who sideswiped two vehicles, including a school bus. Greg Wehner, Fox News, 1 Dec. 2023 There was some disagreement among models whether Norma will stall just southwest of Baja California, slam into it head-on, or sideswipe it to the east. Dan Stillman, Washington Post, 19 Oct. 2023
Noun
That's how dolphins B (collected in the 1980s in the Gulf of Mexico) and T captured their fish in the seawater pool, using a sideswipe motion of the head. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 1 Jan. 2023 Instead, their most recent live pricing model took a sideswipe at standard capitalism by giving customers the chance to buy their most popular items at the wholesale price, simply by buying the product first. Lynette Nylander, Essence, 24 Oct. 2023 Advertisement In addition to being a traffic chokepoint, officials say nearly 80 percent of crashes in the intersection are sideswipes or rear-end collisions, which can indicate confusion among drivers. Heidi Pérez-Moreno, Washington Post, 19 July 2023 Troopers suspect the vehicle should be missing a hubcap on one of the tires and have damage to the front right and possibly right sideswipe damage. Amanda Rabines, Orlando Sentinel, 7 Apr. 2023 The Ginni Thomas leaks are a political sideswipe that will make its conclusions harder to credit. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 25 Mar. 2022 What could have been an injurious collision was thankfully more of a sideswipe. Kristi Scales, Dallas News, 9 Dec. 2020 The most common crash seen at the current Delaware Street ramp weave is a sideswipe followed by a rear-end collision, according to INDOT. Ethan May, The Indianapolis Star, 13 Aug. 2020 Many of the accidents were attributed to rear-end collisions caused by vehicles stopping in a travel lane and sideswipe accidents caused by vehicles changing lanes, the city said in a news release. Robin Goist, cleveland, 3 Dec. 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sideswipe.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Verb

1891, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1857, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of sideswipe was in 1857

Dictionary Entries Near sideswipe

Cite this Entry

“Sideswipe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sideswipe. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

sideswipe

1 of 2 verb
side·​swipe -ˌswīp How to pronounce sideswipe (audio)
: to hit along the side with a blow that bounces off at an angle
sideswiped a parked car

sideswipe

2 of 2 noun
1
: an instance of sideswiping : a blow from an angle that bounces off
2
: an indirectly related disapproving remark, allusion, or reference
a sideswipe at the senator's voting record

More from Merriam-Webster on sideswipe

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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