swatter

noun

swat·​ter ˈswä-tər How to pronounce swatter (audio)
: one that swats
especially : flyswatter

Examples of swatter in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Small shot has no place here, except for a handful of 5 or 6 steel shot swatter loads designed to subdue cripples. M.d. Johnson, Field & Stream, 8 Feb. 2024 Williams said the swatter, who has yet to be caught, made a hoax call claiming a shooting had occurred at Williams' home. Scott MacFarlane, CBS News, 19 Jan. 2024 By recording his network traffic, the investigator surreptitiously captured the swatter’s IP address along with a username that at the time was unknown to law enforcement. Dhruv Mehrotra, WIRED, 26 Jan. 2024 Especially the electronic fly swatter, encased in plastic. Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2023 For Mack, the finding pointed to an even bigger pattern — and an even more prolific swatter. Joanna Slater, Washington Post, 4 Oct. 2023 The swatter’s use of technology is notable, said James Turgal, a former senior official at the FBI’s information and technology branch who is now vice president at Optiv, a cybersecurity firm. Joanna Slater, Washington Post, 4 Oct. 2023 Despite the extreme heat, butchers laid out raw meat on the hoods of their cars, whacking away flies with branches or fly swatters jury-rigged with plastic bags. Valerie Hopkins Emile Ducke, New York Times, 11 Aug. 2023 In less than a single week in April, universities including Clemson, Florida, Boston, Harvard, Cornell, Pittsburgh, Rutgers and Oklahoma, as well as Middlebury College, were targeted by swatters. Jacob Ward, NBC News, 29 June 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'swatter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1888, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of swatter was in 1888

Dictionary Entries Near swatter

Cite this Entry

“Swatter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/swatter. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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