swap

1 of 3

verb

ˈswäp 

swapped; swapping

transitive verb

1

a

: to give in trade : barter

b

: exchange sense 2

2

: to take turns in telling

swap stories

intransitive verb

: to make an exchange

swapper noun

swap

2 of 3

noun (1)

: an act, instance, or process of exchanging one thing for another

swapper

3 of 3

noun (2)

swap·​per

ˈswäpə(r), 

-wȯp-

plural -s

: one that swaps

Synonyms of swap

Verb

• exchange
• trade
• substitute
• change

Noun (1)

• exchange

Examples of swap in a Sentence

Verb

He swapped his cupcake for a candy bar.

I swapped seats with my sister so she could see the stage better.

I liked her blue notebook and she liked my red one, so we swapped.

Noun (1)

They made the swap in secret.

we made a swap: I'll do the dishes tonight and she'll do them for me tomorrow

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The conference swaps out Texas State for Louisiana Tech this year. — Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026

Other reports show scammers swapping out the recruiter's name and contact information while keeping the basic offer intact. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 18 Aug. 2026

Noun

And the defense marshals the same string of district court decisions—from Nevada, Ohio, and Michigan—that have rejected broad readings of the definition of swaps in context of sports-event contracts. — The Insider, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026

Continuous factory work may still require charging, battery swaps or multiple robots. — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 18 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English swappen to strike; from the practice of striking hands in closing a business deal

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun (1)

1625, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing swap

• swap meet
• swap stories

Rhymes for swap

• bop
• chop
• cop
• crop
• drop
• flop
• fop
• hop
• knop
• lop
• mop
• op

Kids Definition

swap

verb

ˈswäp

swapped; swapping

: to give in exchange : make an exchange : trade

swap noun

Legal Definition

swap

noun

ˈswäp

1

: an exchange of securities

2

: a derivative contract in which two parties (as corporations) agree to exchange rates especially relating to debt