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
Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 13 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
Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Apr. 2026
One such example came against Brighton when an attack forced him into an awkward attempt to swat the ball away.
—Matt Pyzdrowski, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for swat
Noun
Brook Lopez, then with Milwaukee, finished second with 148 swats in 80 games.
—Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 13 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
Everett singled in Kallin Whisenant to give Joshua a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning and swatted a 2-run triple in the sixth that gave the Owls a 5-4 lead.
—Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Apr. 2026
One such example came against Brighton when an attack forced him into an awkward attempt to swat the ball away.
—Matt Pyzdrowski, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for swat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swat
Noun
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Kimmell gained the Ducks’ zone, faking a slap shot and then curling back toward the blue line to find a trailing Haula.—
Andrew Knoll,
Oc Register,
8 Apr. 2026
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The bearded blueliner has skated through the bumps and bruises that come with delivering checks and deflecting slap shots.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Rich Township definitely didn’t know what to do Tuesday with Holley, who smacked two doubles and drove in three runs for H-F in a 10-3 win at Illinois-Chicago’s Curtis Granderson Stadium.—
Patrick Z. McGavin,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Apr. 2026
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LaRoche smacked a 2-1 pitch to deep right for a 3-run home run in the bottom of the first.—
Darren Lauber,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
15 Apr. 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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Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the strikes killed four people, including the 12-year-old, adding that a drone slammed into an 18-story building.—
Aidan Stretch,
CBS News,
16 Apr. 2026
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The fresh controversy comes two days after Trump posted, then deleted, an image depicting himself as Jesus healing the sick, which many devout Christians, including some of his staunch supporters, slammed as blasphemous.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The development marks a blow to Washington’s support for Orban’s reelection and comes after Magyar’s Tisza party was viewed as the favorite to win in the April 12 election, holding a 10-point lead over the ruling Fidesz party, according to Politico’s polling analysis.—
Emily Hallas,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Apr. 2026
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Freiburg and Switzerland midfielder Johan Manzambi received a blow to his knee late in the game and needed support to walk off the field afterward.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
12 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Residents who had previously circulated petitions against the data center pivoted to door-knocking for the candidates, collaborating on campaign videos, encouraging their neighbors to show up to vote and even driving each other to the polls.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
14 Apr. 2026
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Roberts was on the ninth of his 10 reps when the medicine ball knocked the exhaust vent off the wall behind him in the hallway outside the visiting clubhouse’s weight room.—
Meghan Montemurro,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Another day, as Mom loads the children into the car, Jeremy tosses a basketball against the house, again and again, his passive aggression registering through the ball’s unyielding thuds and his own frozen gaze.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
12 Apr. 2026
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The call, which the filing says was made within two minutes of the thuds, was to an employee of the company that owned the development where Okland was hosting the open house.—
Karen Cortes,
NBC news,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The Devil Wears Prada 2 is expected to hit theaters on May 1.—
Joyann Jeffrey,
PEOPLE,
11 Apr. 2026
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But Edwards hit a 3-pointer a few seconds later to push the lead to 135-128 and send the home fans streaming toward the exits.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Swat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swat. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.
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