swat

verb \ ˈswät \

Definition of swat

swatted; swatting

transitive verb

:to hit with a sharp slapping blow usually with an instrument (such as a bat or flyswatter)

swatted the ball for a home run

See swat defined for English-language learners

See swat defined for kids

Examples of swat in a Sentence

She swatted the fly with a magazine.
The cat was swatting the injured mouse with its paw.
He swatted the tennis ball out of bounds.

Recent Examples of swat from the Web

Early on, McGregor looked to have the upper hand, coming out aggressive and MMA-y, but in the tenth round Mayweather swatted him down in a TKO.

— luke darby, GQ, "Mayweather Beats McGregor in the Weirdest Fight of the Year," 27 Aug. 2017
Verrett played the coverage perfectly, though, by shielding off Thomas and swatting the pass away.

— NOLA.com, "5-plus observations from Friday's Saints-Chargers joint practice," 18 Aug. 2017
The main focus therein had to do with Bortles’s release, a looping wind-up that knocked off timing on his throws and left him susceptible to having the ball swatted from his grasp in the pocket.

— chris burke, SI.com, "Blake Bortles’s Biggest Problem May No Longer Be His Mechanics," 18 Aug. 2017
Nomar Mazara was the start, swatting a three-run homer and driving in five.

— jeff wilson, star-telegram, "Mazara drives in five as Rangers top White Sox, move to .500," 17 Aug. 2017
A great horned owl perched on a spruce snag and watched us swat through dinner.

— ned rozell, Alaska Dispatch News, "On a long hike in the Arctic, you learn to savor each bug-free moment," 15 July 2017
Despite swatting an impressive 14 bombs in a heart-pounding first round of the jovial tournament, the Colorado Rockies’ bearded leadoff hitter was eliminated early by Cody Bellinger of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

— hayley glatter, The Atlantic, "Major League Baseball's Educational Safety Net," 13 July 2017
And if medicines which simply swat back some of a disease's major symptoms, how much would an actual cure cost?

— sy mukherjee, Fortune, "The FDA Approved the First New Sickle Drug in 20 Years…But It’s Not a Cure," 10 July 2017
With a runner on base, Freddy Galvis swatted the first of his two homers in the third.

— dennis lin, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Phillies launch six home runs in drubbing of Padres," 9 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'swat.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of swat

English dialect, to squat, alteration of English squat

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1796

See Words from the same year

swat Synonyms

Synonyms

bang, bash, bat, belt, biff, bludgeon, bob, bonk, bop, box, bust, clap, clip, clobber, clock, clout, crack, hammer, knock, nail, paste, pound, punch, rap, slam, slap, slog, slug, smack, smite, sock, strike, hit, swipe, tag, thump, thwack, wallop, whack, whale, zap

Related Words

batter, beat, buffet, bung, chop, cuff, drub, lace, lambaste (or lambast), lick, mangle, maul, pelt, pepper, pommel, pummel, rough; scuff; bunt, flick, stroke, tap; bump, butt, jab, jostle, kick, knee, poke, prod, push, shove, stamp; bowl (down or over), cream, deck, dump [slang], fell, floor, knock down, level; rabbit-punch, sucker punch; cane, club, cudgel, flail, flog, lash, sap, slash, sledge, sledgehammer, spear, stab, switch, thrash, whip; bean, brain, conk, skull

swat

noun

Definition of swat

1 :a powerful or crushing blow

2 :a long hit in baseball; especially :home run

Examples of swat in a Sentence

the impatient toddler got a swat on his wrist for stepping into the street by himself

Recent Examples of swat from the Web

SWAT officers Wednesday evening were trying to coax an armed barricaded suspect out of a home in the Fairfax neighborhood, police sad.

— alene tchekmedyian, latimes.com, "Armed man barricaded inside Fairfax home prompts SWAT team response," 9 Aug. 2017
Police and SWAT teams were called to the scene just after 10 a.m. Friday, where a husband reportedly took his wife hostage.

— Cincinnati.com, "Police: Man in Price Hill standoff is dead," 4 Aug. 2017
Littleton swat teams may have frozen, but bow-tie-wearing millennialistas have been on the scene like a ball of heat.

— mark jacobson, Daily Intelligencer, "The Generation Gap in My Living Room," 30 June 2017
Collapsed on the ground, Long reached for his dropped rifle, but five SWAT officers fired, killing him, Moore said.

— jason hanna, CNN, "Baton Rouge cop killer left note, fired at least 43 rounds," 30 June 2017
One swat with a powerful paw can level a hive, so after losing a few Walton built his bees a fortress.

— mychel matthews, idahostatesman, "As urban agriculture gains followers in Idaho and beyond, some cities loosen codes," 11 June 2017
SWAT team members from Arlington and Fort Worth, with rifles drawn, kept a close watch on the man inside the big rig’s cab during an almost two-hour standoff.

— ryan osborne, star-telegram.com, "Catastrophe avoided as tractor-trailer chase ends in fiery crash on I-30 in Arlington," 9 June 2017
By this time, our SWAT teams were scouring every inch of the downtown area in search of snipers.

— david brown, Esquire, "Inside the Plan to End Last Year's Dallas Police Shooting," 9 June 2017
SWAT officers searched for the men on Sunday, June 4.

— hannah madans, Orange County Register, "SWAT called off pursuit of four men," 4 June 2017

First Known Use of swat

circa 1800

swat Synonyms

Synonyms

bang, bash, bat, beat, belt, biff, bop, box, buffet, bust, chop, clap, clip, clout, crack, cuff, dab, douse [British], fillip, hack, haymaker, hit, hook, knock, larrup [dialect], lash, lick, pelt, pick, plump, poke, pound, punch, rap, slam, slap, slug, smack, smash, sock, spank, stinger, stripe, stroke, ¹blow, swipe, switch, thud, thump, thwack, wallop, welt, whack, wham, whop (also whap)

SWAT

noun, often attributive \ ˈswät \

Definition of SWAT

:a police or military unit specially trained and equipped to handle unusually hazardous situations or missions

See SWAT defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of swat from the Web

SWAT officers Wednesday evening were trying to coax an armed barricaded suspect out of a home in the Fairfax neighborhood, police sad.

— alene tchekmedyian, latimes.com, "Armed man barricaded inside Fairfax home prompts SWAT team response," 9 Aug. 2017
Police and SWAT teams were called to the scene just after 10 a.m. Friday, where a husband reportedly took his wife hostage.

— Cincinnati.com, "Police: Man in Price Hill standoff is dead," 4 Aug. 2017
Littleton swat teams may have frozen, but bow-tie-wearing millennialistas have been on the scene like a ball of heat.

— mark jacobson, Daily Intelligencer, "The Generation Gap in My Living Room," 30 June 2017
Collapsed on the ground, Long reached for his dropped rifle, but five SWAT officers fired, killing him, Moore said.

— jason hanna, CNN, "Baton Rouge cop killer left note, fired at least 43 rounds," 30 June 2017
One swat with a powerful paw can level a hive, so after losing a few Walton built his bees a fortress.

— mychel matthews, idahostatesman, "As urban agriculture gains followers in Idaho and beyond, some cities loosen codes," 11 June 2017
SWAT team members from Arlington and Fort Worth, with rifles drawn, kept a close watch on the man inside the big rig’s cab during an almost two-hour standoff.

— ryan osborne, star-telegram.com, "Catastrophe avoided as tractor-trailer chase ends in fiery crash on I-30 in Arlington," 9 June 2017
By this time, our SWAT teams were scouring every inch of the downtown area in search of snipers.

— david brown, Esquire, "Inside the Plan to End Last Year's Dallas Police Shooting," 9 June 2017
SWAT officers searched for the men on Sunday, June 4.

— hannah madans, Orange County Register, "SWAT called off pursuit of four men," 4 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'SWAT.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of swat

special weapons and tactics

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1968

See Words from the same year

Swat

geographical name \ ˈswät \

Definition of Swat

river 400 miles (644 kilometers) long in Pakistan flowing into the Kabul River

SWAT Defined for English Language Learners

swat

verb

Definition of swat for English Language Learners

: to hit (someone or something) with a quick motion

SWAT

noun

Definition of SWAT for English Language Learners

: a police or military unit that is specially trained to handle very dangerous situations

SWAT Defined for Kids

swat

verb \ ˈswät \

Definition of swat for Students

swatted; swatting

:to hit with a quick hard blow

I swatted a fly.

swat

noun

Definition of swat for Students

:a hard blow

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