swooped; swooping; swoops
: to move with a sweep
: to gain or carry off in or as if in a swoop
—usually used with up
swooper
noun
1
: an act or instance of swooping
2
: a single concentrated and quickly effective effort
was done in one swoop
—often used with fellsolved everything at one fell swoop
Examples of swoop in a Sentence
Verb
The police swooped in and captured the criminals.
Recent Examples on the Web
The Know, Denver Post, 29 Mar. 2026
Hours later, OpenAI swooped in to secure its own Pentagon deal, agreeing to terms that critics say offer far weaker protections.
—Andrew Rasiej, New York Daily News, 22 Mar. 2026
Jen McCaffrey, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2026
Most of these brands are still relatively up-and-coming in South Korea, and in bringing them Stateside in one fell swoop, Ulta looks to be a first-mover in the fast-growing Korean hair care category.
—Noor Lobad, Footwear News, 25 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for swoop
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Verb
Helm is the curious, mercurial, impish, affectionate and dangerous air current of the English Pennines, swooping over the Eden District from prehistory until now.
—The Know, Denver Post, 29 Mar. 2026
Hours later, OpenAI swooped in to secure its own Pentagon deal, agreeing to terms that critics say offer far weaker protections.
—Andrew Rasiej, New York Daily News, 22 Mar. 2026
Noun
Last season, Breslow made a franchise-altering trade in sending Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants in an effort to recalibrate the clubhouse dynamics and the franchise’s finances in one fell swoop.
—Jen McCaffrey, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2026
Most of these brands are still relatively up-and-coming in South Korea, and in bringing them Stateside in one fell swoop, Ulta looks to be a first-mover in the fast-growing Korean hair care category.
—Noor Lobad, Footwear News, 25 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for swoop
Cite this Entry
“Swoop.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/swoop. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
swoop
1 of 2 verb
: to dive or pounce suddenly like a hawk on its prey
swoop
2 of 2 noun1
: an act or instance of swooping
2
: a single quickly effective effort
—often used with fell
solved everything at one fell swoop
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