as in nerd
a person slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits
every time he begged off a night at the pub—saying he had to study—his mates teased him for being a swot
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Recent Examples of swot
John McIntyre, The Christian Science Monitor, 31 July 2023
So, swot up, then delegate.
—Barnaby Lashbrooke, Forbes, 4 May 2021
The Economist, 13 June 2020
Greenblatt might want to have a chinwag with some of his colleagues in the history department and swot up the biography of someone like Wisconsin’s Robert La Follette, a progressive populist politician perhaps more to his liking.
—Alex Beam, BostonGlobe.com, 2 May 2018
Noun
The Oxbridge and Ivy League colleges traditionally had disparaging terms for students who worked too hard and devoted themselves too diligently to learning: swot in England, grind in the United States.
—John McIntyre, The Christian Science Monitor, 31 July 2023
So, swot up, then delegate.
—Barnaby Lashbrooke, Forbes, 4 May 2021
Verb
Yamada Jun, the IT expert, became the CEO and travelled to Germany to swot up on renewables.
—The Economist, 13 June 2020
Greenblatt might want to have a chinwag with some of his colleagues in the history department and swot up the biography of someone like Wisconsin’s Robert La Follette, a progressive populist politician perhaps more to his liking.
—Alex Beam, BostonGlobe.com, 2 May 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swot
Noun
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Art history nerds will want to be sure to stop in for a look at one of Pieter Bruegel’s The Tower of Babel (1568) paintings.—
Chadd Scott,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2025
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In the wake of voice actor Pamela Hayden's retirement, The Simpsons' beloved blue-haired nerd Milhouse Van Houten will now be played by singer Kelly Macleod, Entertainment Weekly can exclusively reveal.—
Wesley Stenzel,
EW.com,
16 May 2025
Verb
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By continuously observing and analyzing these data, these systems generate personalized interventions designed to help users manage times of mental strain.—
Connie Etemadi,
USA Today,
16 May 2025
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The Phillies, like most teams, have high-speed cameras that can help a pitcher analyze finger placement.—
Matt Gelb,
New York Times,
15 May 2025
Noun
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There’s a noticeable pride Morot takes in touring me around his geek’s paradise: a two-level office crammed with shelves of scowling latex heads, furry creatures and a pair of giant gators overlooking it all.—
Joshua Rothkopf,
Los Angeles Times,
14 May 2025
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There were kind of two tracks at the time: There was Das Keyboard, aimed toward the more professional programmers and the geeks, and then the gaming keyboards.—
Zackery Cuevas,
PC Magazine,
10 May 2025
Verb
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In the lesson, students deduce the correct path by jumping on colored dots to find their way across six multi-hued rows.—
Joshua Rhett Miller,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 May 2025
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After deducing an approximate location for where Mr. Biari was placing his calls, Israeli military officials were warned that the area, which included several apartment complexes, was densely populated, two intelligence officers said.—
Sheera Frenkel,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Crane had a ready response for that, noting that few people these days bother to study their receipts.—
Robert Goulder,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2025
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But the researchers’ premise—that there might be a mystical experience at the heart of a psychedelic trip—is a phenomenon that can be studied and should be studied.—
Hannah Jocelyn,
New Yorker,
19 May 2025
Verb
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During testimony on May 22, Mescudi recalled Combs allegedly breaking into his house in December 2011 after the record executive found out about the relationship.—
Taijuan Moorman,
USA Today,
23 May 2025
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Beren Cross found out about a £50,000 deal put together by the club that has protected the pitch for the foreseeable future, and potentially for centuries.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
Verb
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The founding team actively reads customer reviews, emails, and support requests to guide product development.—
Nia Bowers,
USA Today,
20 May 2025
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After some patter from the hype man, Greg Gutfeld came out and read MAGA-dad jokes off a teleprompter, and teed up his four guests: a comedian named Michael Loftus, the anarchist troll Michael Malice, the former MTV v.j. Kennedy, and Cobb, who wore a Chicago Blackhawks hockey jersey.—
Nick Paumgarten,
New Yorker,
19 May 2025
Verb
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This can include learning to maintain robotic systems to stay relevant.—
Jack Kelly,
Forbes.com,
12 May 2025
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Guests at the conversations will include producers, sales agents, distributors and creatives looking to learn about the different filming opportunities in these regions.—
William Earl,
Variety,
12 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Swot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swot. Accessed 25 May. 2025.
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