sideswipe

1 of 2

verb

side·​swipe ˈsīd-ˌswīp 

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

The man then lost control of the bike and sideswiped a Subaru Legacy that was in the left lane, state police said. — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 20 July 2026

The victim had been riding as a passenger in a Jeep driving on Hudson Street that was sideswiped by a Ford pickup truck exiting a driveway near a Shell gas station, authorities said. — Caelyn Pender, Mercury News, 16 July 2026

Noun

In 2004, there were sixty-nine sideswipe accidents in New Orleans in which a passenger vehicle collided with a large truck. — Patrick Radden Keefe, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026

Electrons in the magnetic field sideswipe oxygen atoms or nitrogen molecules in the Earth's atmosphere. — Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 8 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Verb

1891, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1857, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for sideswipe

• allotype
• antitype
• archetype
• biotype
• collotype
• genotype
• haplotype
• holotype
• hypotype
• isotype
• lectotype
• linotype

Kids Definition

sideswipe

1 of 2 verb

side·​swipe -ˌswīp 

: 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