swift

adjective \ ˈswift \

Definition of swift

1 :moving or capable of moving with great speed

a swift runner

2 :occurring suddenly or within a very short time

a swift transition

3 :quick to respond :ready

See swift defined for English-language learners

See swift defined for kids

Examples of swift in a Sentence

a swift and accurate response
the sleekest, swiftest boat ever to have sailed in the regatta

Recent Examples of swift from the Web

The response was swift and Cheryl Foertch, principal at High Point School in Orland Park, couldn't have been more gratified.

— steve zimmerman, Daily Southtown, "Orland-area students getting an education in how to help," 30 Aug. 2017
Thus far, the only unit deployed to Texas for relief efforts has been a homeland security swift water rescue team out of northern Indiana that is trained to rescue people from flood waters, McKay said.

— javonte anderson, Post-Tribune, "NWI emergency responders ready to help Harvey victims," 29 Aug. 2017
The response to this news has been swift; Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin told a CBS affiliate station in Connecticut that his city would lose approximately $1 million in funding for the program, which has proven effective over the years.

— de elizabeth, Teen Vogue, "The Trump Administration Cuts Funding to the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program," 25 Aug. 2017
But progress in disabling these groups from raising money via mainstream companies’ services hasn’t always been swift.

— gillian b. white, The Atlantic, "When Should Companies Dump White-Supremacist Customers?," 18 Aug. 2017
Backlash from the racist music industry at the time was swift.

— matt miller, Esquire, "Johnny Cash Always Fought Hatred. His Family Just Disavowed a Charlottesville Nazi.," 17 Aug. 2017
Reaction from LGBT and civil-rights advocates was swift.

— jeanette steele, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Trump bans transgender troops in a tweet," 26 July 2017
But President Rodrigo Duterte’s recent predictions of a swift victory were far from the mark.

— The Economist, "Winning the war with IS in the Philippines, but losing the peace," 20 July 2017
Bang: Wall Street's judgment was swift -- and brutal.

— leslie patton, chicagotribune.com, "Chipotle's tarnished image takes another hit," 18 July 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of swift

Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old English swīfan to revolve — more at swivel

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

swift Synonyms

Synonyms

blistering, breakneck, breathless, brisk, dizzy, fleet, fleet-footed, flying, galloping, hasty, hot, lightning, nippy, quick, rapid, rapid-fire, rattling, snappy, speedy, splitting, fast, whirlwind, zippy

Antonyms

slow

Related Words

expeditious, prompt, ready; accelerated, hastened, hurried, quickened, rushed; breathtaking; energetic, strenuous, strong, vigorous; high-speed; rush; ultrafast, ultrarapid

Near Antonyms

crawling, dallying, dawdling, dillydallying, dragging, laggard, languid, lingering, plodding, poking, poky (or pokey), slowish, sluggish, unhurried; deliberate, leisurely, measured; dilatory, late, tardy; ultraslow

Synonym Discussion of swift

fast, rapid, swift, fleet, quick, speedy, hasty, expeditious mean moving, proceeding, or acting with celerity. fast and rapid are very close in meaning, but fast applies particularly to the thing that moves

- fast horses

and rapid to the movement itself.

- rapid current

swift suggests great rapidity coupled with ease of movement.

- returned the ball with one swift stroke

fleet adds the implication of lightness and nimbleness.

- fleet runners

quick suggests promptness and the taking of little time.

- a quick wit

speedy implies quickness of successful accomplishment

- speedy delivery of mail

and may also suggest unusual velocity. hasty suggests hurry and precipitousness and often connotes carelessness.

- a hasty inspection

expeditious suggests efficiency together with rapidity of accomplishment.

- the expeditious handling of an order

swift

adverb

Definition of swift

:swiftly

swift-flowing

Examples of swift in a Sentence

tried to cross the swift-flowing river

First Known Use of swift

14th century

swift Synonyms

Synonyms

apace, briskly, chop-chop, double-quick, fleetly, full tilt, hastily, hell-for-leather, hot, lickety-split, posthaste, presto, pronto, quick, quickly, rapidly, snappily, soon, speedily, fast, swiftly

Antonyms

slow, slowly

Related Words

immediately, promptly, readily; impetuously, impulsively, rashly, recklessly; abruptly, suddenly; energetically, vigorously

Near Antonyms

laggardly, lingeringly, ploddingly, sluggishly; deliberately, leisurely; belatedly, delinquently, tardily

swift

noun

Definition of swift

1 :any of several lizards (especially of the genus Sceloporus) that run swiftly

2 :a reel for winding yarn or thread

3 :any of numerous small plainly colored birds (family Apodidae) that are related to the hummingbirds but superficially much resemble swallows

See swift defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of swift from the Web

The Hartland Florist property was home to an estimated 1,000 swifts before it was leveled.

— steven martinez, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Chimney swifts return to Hartland — but not to $40K roost built for them," 23 Aug. 2017
The council accepted $39,644 in federal funds from a 2016 State Homeland Security Program grant to buy 800 MHz radios and dry suits for the Fire and Marine Safety swift-water team.

— laura groch, sandiegouniontribune.com, "How they voted, Aug. 20," 20 Aug. 2017
The water was calm, the current swift and the scenery spectacular.

— jim buchta, chicagotribune.com, "Call of the Colorado River leads to a family pilgrimage," 11 Aug. 2017
The Crow Pass Crossing, which takes runners up a mountain, over a pass and down into a valley and includes a ford of swift and bracing Eagle River, has never suffered a fatality.

— doyle woody, Alaska Dispatch News, "UAA suspends Crow Pass Crossing backcountry marathon for a year," 24 June 2017
Hummingbirds are great fliers, but their closest relatives—the swifts—are even better, and while hummingbird eggs are symmetrical, swift eggs are pointed, more like pine nuts than Tic Tacs.

— ed yong, The Atlantic, "Why Are Bird Eggs Egg-Shaped? An Eggsplainer," 22 June 2017
Recruiting Ms. Martello is the sort of swift, behind-the-scenes power play that has propelled Ms. Huffington to become Uber’s most influential independent board member.

— katie benner and mike isaac, New York Times, "As Uber Leaders Step Aside, Arianna Huffington’s Influence Grows," 17 June 2017
Amazon on Friday announced its acquisition of Whole Foods for $13.7 billion, and social media had a swift — and at times hilarious — reaction to the high-profile deal.

— aric jenkins, Fortune, "The Internet Had a Lot of Fun With Amazon Buying Whole Foods," 16 June 2017
Swift allowed Apple to stream it after the music platform decided to pay artists royalties during its free three-month trial.

— courant.com, "Taylor Swift's Music Is Returning To Spotify, Pandora, More," 9 June 2017

First Known Use of swift

15th century

Swift

biographical name \ ˈswift \

Definition of Swift

Gustavus Franklin 1839–1903 American meatpacker

Swift

biographical name

Definition of Swift

Jonathan 1667–1745 English (Irish-born) satirist

—

Swiftian

play \ˈswif-tē-ən\ adjective

SWIFT Defined for English Language Learners

swift

adjective

Definition of swift for English Language Learners

: happening or done quickly or immediately
: moving or able to move very fast
: smart or intelligent

swift

noun

Definition of swift for English Language Learners

: a small bird that has long, narrow wings

SWIFT Defined for Kids

swift

adjective \ ˈswift \

Definition of swift for Students

swifter; swiftest

1 :moving or capable of moving with great speed

a swift river

a swift runner

2 :occurring suddenly

a swift kick

a swift descent

—

swiftly

adverb

—

swiftness

noun

swift

adverb

Definition of swift for Students

:in a swift manner

I crossed a swift-flowing river.

swift

noun

Definition of swift for Students

:a small usually black bird that is related to the hummingbirds but looks like a swallow

Learn More about swift

See words that rhyme with swift Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for swift Spanish Central: Translation of swift Nglish: Translation of swift for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of swift for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about swift

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swift

Definition of swift

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swift Synonyms

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swift

Definition of swift

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First Known Use of swift

Swift

Definition of Swift

Swift

Definition of Swift

Swiftian

SWIFT Defined for English Language Learners

swift

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swift

Definition of swift for English Language Learners

SWIFT Defined for Kids

swift

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swiftly

swiftness

swift

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swift

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