plural also swan: any of various large heavy-bodied long-necked mostly pure white aquatic birds (family Anatidae, especially genus Cygnus) that have webbed feet and are related to but larger than the geese
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Noun
And in the middle of the gala — a gala that, mind you, Kiki made a big show of kicking off for all the guests only minutes before — Kiki is sent packing, and Peter swans around the party with Simone on his arm.—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 22 May 2025 Over the years, Cooke has been in the middle of several black swan events.—Jenni Fink, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 May 2025
Verb
This season reaches its pinnacle of camp with a visit from Oscar Wilde himself (Jordan Sebastian Waller), who swans through a crowd of Manhattan elite dropping droll asides after the premiere of his first play, Vera; or, The Nihilists.—EW.com, 27 Oct. 2023 The music video, in which Tay swans around a Malibu mansion in a pastel two-piece, was more controversial.—Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 13 Nov. 2023 See All Example Sentences for swan
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English, from Old English; akin to Middle High German swan and perhaps to Latin sonus sound — more at sound entry 1
Verb (2)
perhaps euphemism for swear
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
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