swan song
noun
Did you know?
Swans don't sing. They whistle or trumpet, or in the case of the swan most common in ponds, the mute swan, they only hiss and snort. But according to ancient legend, the swan does sing one beautiful song in its life-just before it dies. References in English to the dying swan's lovely singing go back as far as Chaucer, but the term swan song itself didn't appear in the language until the 1830s, when Thomas Carlyle used it in Sartor Resartus. Carlyle probably based his "swan song" on the German version of the term, which is Schwanengesang or Schwanenlied.
Examples of swan song in a Sentence
August Brown, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2025
Musk appeared with Trump on Friday in an Oval Office press conference, sort of a swan song as the billionaire’s official government service came to an end.
—Ted Johnson, Deadline, 2 June 2025
Fleury, who retired from the league after the Minnesota Wild’s season ended May 1, is enjoying a swan song at the World Championships before his playing career truly ends in the next few days.
—Josh Yohe, New York Times, 21 May 2025
Joined by No Limit Soldiers, including Mia X, Silkk The Shocker, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Dru Hill, and Keri Hilson, the New Orleans mogul is set to deliver a swan song that pays tribute to his enduring impact on hip-hop and Southern culture.
—Shelby Stewart, Essence, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for swan song
Cite this Entry
“Swan song.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/swan%20song. Accessed 15 Jul. 2025.
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