as in slap
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument
the impatient toddler got a swat on his wrist for stepping into the street by himself
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in to smack
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner
didn't sleep a wink all night because she was too busy swatting mosquitoes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of swat
Matt Byrne, Arkansas Online, 28 Jan. 2026
The sky-high swat by Bidunga — with his dominant left hand — was the 6-foot-9, 220-pounder’s third rejection of the game (to go with 10 rebounds) and his final highlight-reel play.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 16 Nov. 2025
Laura Fay, CBS News, 30 Apr. 2026
What’s next, a robotic baseball player named Babe that swats 500-foot home runs and throws 120 mph pitches, eclipsing Shohei Ohtani’s real-life achievements and commanding a billion dollar contract?
—Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for swat
Noun
The swat helped Arkansas survive for an 83-79 win at Oklahoma on Tuesday night.
—Matt Byrne, Arkansas Online, 28 Jan. 2026
The sky-high swat by Bidunga — with his dominant left hand — was the 6-foot-9, 220-pounder’s third rejection of the game (to go with 10 rebounds) and his final highlight-reel play.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 16 Nov. 2025
Verb
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga was the target of a swatting call the same day as the Villanova incident.
—Laura Fay, CBS News, 30 Apr. 2026
What’s next, a robotic baseball player named Babe that swats 500-foot home runs and throws 120 mph pitches, eclipsing Shohei Ohtani’s real-life achievements and commanding a billion dollar contract?
—Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for swat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swat
Noun
-
Pannek didn’t hit the puck with a full slap shot.—
Staff Report,
Twin Cities,
9 May 2026
-
After Lane Hutson fired a slap shot that went wide and bounced back out, Newhook backhanded the puck out of the air and in off Andrei Vasilevskiy’s pad and his backside.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 May 2026
Verb
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Eldridge’s solo shot in the fifth inning against right-hander Braxton Ashcraft smacked the top of the right field arcade and caromed into McCovey Cove.—
Andrew Baggarly,
New York Times,
10 May 2026
-
The two have smacked each other around in the weeks since and traded barbs over their places within the company.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
9 May 2026
Noun
-
The Yankees need Wells to provide at least some thump in a bottom third of the order that hasn’t been very good.—
Brendan Kuty,
New York Times,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Moments later, a bass thump sounded in the distance.—
Nabih Bulos,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Wanting to avoid running a red light, the trailer made a right-hand turn on yellow and slammed into a Santa Clarita Transit bus and two vehicles near the intersection of Golden Valley Road, according to the Sheriff’s Department.—
Andrew J. Campa,
Los Angeles Times,
13 May 2026
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One of these cosmic rays for instance, dubbed the Amaterasu particle (after the Japanese sun goddess) slammed into Earth in 2021 with an energy 40 million times greater than particles slammed together at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
13 May 2026
Noun
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Amid aspersions and attack ads, the pair nearly came to blows at a community debate.—
Dakota Smith,
Los Angeles Times,
11 May 2026
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From there, both fighters were trading blows, but the fifth round was when Strickland had an interesting moment with Chimaev.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
10 May 2026
Verb
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The puck had just slipped through Poehling’s skates when McNabb crunched Poehling into the boards, knocking him out for the rest of the game and prompting an official review.—
Eric Stephens,
New York Times,
13 May 2026
-
Jones’ challenge has forced Thompson to match his fundraising and door-knocking efforts — both candidates have raised roughly $3 million, their campaigns said.—
Justine McDaniel,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2026
Noun
-
The teen's uncle heard a loud thud and rushed to the shed to check on the two brothers.—
Landon Mion,
FOXNews.com,
6 May 2026
-
But a patient pugilist values the muffled thud of shots to the resolve.—
Marcus Thompson II,
New York Times,
5 May 2026
Verb
-
Sloane, who has increased his fastball velocity by over 10 mph since last spring and now reaches 90, hit the gym hard.—
Steve Millar,
Chicago Tribune,
9 May 2026
-
During their semifinal win over Wisconsin, the Bruins hit four home runs and pushed their NCAA record single-season team home run total to 181.—
Sports Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
9 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Swat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swat. Accessed 15 May. 2026.
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