as in slap
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument
the impatient toddler got a swat on his wrist for stepping into the street by himself
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in to smack
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner
didn't sleep a wink all night because she was too busy swatting mosquitoes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of swat
Matt Byrne, Arkansas Online, 28 Jan. 2026
The sky-high swat by Bidunga — with his dominant left hand — was the 6-foot-9, 220-pounder’s third rejection of the game (to go with 10 rebounds) and his final highlight-reel play.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 16 Nov. 2025
Ben Church, CNN Money, 9 June 2026
Trey Gambill, after two fly-outs, swatted a homer to center, his ninth of the season, giving Oklahoma a 7-0 lead.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 7 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for swat
Noun
The swat helped Arkansas survive for an 83-79 win at Oklahoma on Tuesday night.
—Matt Byrne, Arkansas Online, 28 Jan. 2026
The sky-high swat by Bidunga — with his dominant left hand — was the 6-foot-9, 220-pounder’s third rejection of the game (to go with 10 rebounds) and his final highlight-reel play.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 16 Nov. 2025
Verb
The second shot was an aggressive volley that was just about returned, but her third saw Williams swat the return volley away, accompanied by that trademark grunt that’s echoed around tennis venues for decades.
—Ben Church, CNN Money, 9 June 2026
Trey Gambill, after two fly-outs, swatted a homer to center, his ninth of the season, giving Oklahoma a 7-0 lead.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 7 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for swat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swat
Noun
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Greenstein and Goldberg tried — and failed — to dissuade their boss from giving Will Smith and his company Westbrook an overall deal with the studio, arguing that the Oscar-slap controversy and a dodgy box office track record would result in more headaches than hits.—
Tatiana Siegel,
Variety,
4 Nov. 2025
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That included two stellar stops in the waning seconds of the third with Carolina on the power play, rebuffing a slap shot and then blocking the rebound with his leg pad.—
Kyle Newman,
Denver Post,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Llamas smacked 139 hits in her career, Kyles 136.—
Don Norcross,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 June 2026
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Then the others, perhaps hearing the now-familiar smack, smack, slurp of group tonsil hockey, followed suit.—
Kathleen Walsh,
Vulture,
9 June 2026
Noun
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Agents yelled from every direction, and the thumps of a news helicopter overhead were deafening.—
Rob Picheta,
CNN Money,
28 May 2026
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Eventually, the space agency aims to fly the X-59 over a number of US communities to collect data on public reaction to its quieter sonic thumps.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
5 May 2026
Verb
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The actor previously slammed Bass for leaving the country on a trip to Ghana as the blazes erupted.—
Ashley Hume , Larry Fink,
FOXNews.com,
10 June 2026
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Critics slammed the most expensive tickets in World Cup history and dynamic pricing, which adjusts prices according to demand.—
Eduard Cauich,
Los Angeles Times,
10 June 2026
Noun
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The rookie took a deep breath, settled into his stance and watched as Houston’s pitcher, Enyel De Los Santos, attempted to deliver the final blow.—
Latif Love
June 14,
Kansas City Star,
14 June 2026
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Star third baseman José Ramírez broke a bone in his left hand on a swing Saturday and will be sidelined for an indefinite period, a massive blow to the two-time defending AL Central champions.—
Tom Withers,
Chicago Tribune,
14 June 2026
Verb
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In March, Tyler entered a guilty plea, which knocked his first-degree rape charge down to third-degree.—
Emily St. Martin,
Los Angeles Times,
17 June 2026
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On Tuesday, the Red Sox had base runners in every inning against Jays starter Dylan Cease, knocking him out after five innings and 108 pitches.—
Jen McCaffrey,
New York Times,
17 June 2026
Noun
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And this one sent the 73-year-old Belichick into the offseason with a final thud, armed with none of the silver-lining assessments that had followed modest gains shown in close losses or wins against some of the Atlantic Coast Conference's worst teams.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
30 Nov. 2025
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The show, which debuted on Tuesday on Hulu, landed with a thud and garnered a jaw-dropping zero percent on Rotten Tomatoes from its initial spate of reviews, which included scathing takedowns from the Guardian, the Hollywood Reporter and the UK’s The Times.—
Mathew Rodriguez,
Them.,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Not over yet While the Nooksack River, near Everson, appeared to crest Thursday morning, other communities were waiting for the peak effects from the deluge to hit their communities.—
Evan Bush,
NBC news,
12 Dec. 2025
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Salah goes to the centre-back, and Szoboszlai jumps to the left-back, ending up out of position when goalkeeper Matz Sels hits one long.—
Liam Tharme,
New York Times,
12 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Swat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swat. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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