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
Ruby Tandoh, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
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
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
Nobody talked about the furtive ambition of the swots.
—Ruby Tandoh, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
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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On the surface, at least, all of that would seem to make Karaban entirely ill-suited for Hurley – the orderly, math nerd introvert versus the whirling dervish extrovert.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Which, basically, is a GEEK, or NERD, or BLERD (a Black nerd), or FANBOY, or FANGIRL, none of which are used here in any derogatory way, and are generally interchangeable.—
Christopher Borrelli,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Griffis analyzed 34 removal cases assigned to him.—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
2 Apr. 2026
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There are more than 1,000 robust clemency applications pending in her office that have been vetted and analyzed by members of the governor’s clemency staff.—
Steve Zeidman,
New York Daily News,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Segel makes Dan a bitterly perceptive geek, out of his depth but eager to prove himself, while Weaving invests Lisa with a snappishness that only camouflages her pain.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
15 Mar. 2026
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Such comes with a 12-game win streak and computer numbers that make even the geeks party on Broadway.—
Noah White,
Miami Herald,
14 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Law enforcement arrived soon after and deduced the shot must have come from outside, potentially from an area 30 yards away where a firearm-sniffing dog alerted the following day.—
Alex Wigglesworth,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Apr. 2026
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The spikes in volume didn’t indicate whether the trades were buy or sell orders, but based on how prices moved as they were placed other traders quickly deduced that someone was selling oil futures, a bet on the value of the commodity falling, and buying stock futures, a bet on a market rebound.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Turnover is very common in large, urban districts, where superintendent transitions are often fraught, according to Jason Grissom, a Vanderbilt University professor who studies school district leadership.—
Kate Armanini,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Apr. 2026
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The science payload to be landed there includes seismometers, a drill to allow emplacement of heat flow and electrical conductivity probes, and instruments to study the magnetic field and surface weathering.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Sean is tested when his longtime friend and employee Jorge (Trey Santiago-Hudson) finds out about all of Sean’s changes and feels betrayed — Sean’s new sous chef gig means the end of the food truck, which Jorge was relying on.—
Ashley Boucher,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 Apr. 2026
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Enter your email address to find out if your information appears in the Synthient leak.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Gardeners should carefully read and follow label instructions and avoid applying treatments when pollinators are most active.—
Anthony Reardon,
Kansas City Star,
4 Apr. 2026
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View Offers Or register for a free account to read just this article.—
Tim Parks,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Come bake and learn with us—ask questions, share pics, listen to our podcast, and lots more here.—
Shilpa Uskokovic,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
1 Apr. 2026
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The head coach enjoys learning about the experiences of journeyman backups.—
Mike Kaye
April 1,
Charlotte Observer,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Swot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swot. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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