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 removal of Hill isn’t justification for a do-over, or a reason for this season being sideswiped because Hill was on the field when these Dolphins dug themselves an 0-3 hole to start the season. —Omar Kelly october 3, Miami Herald, 3 Oct. 2025

Police said the motorcycle officer also tried to stop the Buick, but the driver did not yield and sideswiped another car. —Jason Green, Mercury News, 30 Sep. 2025

Noun

If Knives Out and Glass Onion were sideswipes at the anti-immigrant right and Silicon Valley fascists, respectively, Wake Up Dead Man is Rian Johnson taking dead aim at Trump and his band of hard-liners. —Joe Reid, Vulture, 7 Sep. 2025

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