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

After sideswiping a tractor-trailer, Garrison would pull over while the spotter sped ahead to flag down the truck’s driver. —Patrick Radden Keefe, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026

While doing so, the driver sideswiped another vehicle, which was headed west on Belmont Avenue. —Adam Harrington, CBS News, 13 Apr. 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

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

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