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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Drama of the nerds and the geniuses.—
Bethanne Patrick,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2026
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All the hallmarks of his fusions are present—some gospel here, some guitars there, enough rap samples from across regions to make any blog nerd proud—but his pet sound this cycle is harsh electronic music.—
Dylan Green,
Pitchfork,
29 May 2026
Verb
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This article was generated by the Bay Area Home Report Bot, software that analyzes home sales or other data and creates an article based on a template created by humans.—
Bay Area Home Report,
Mercury News,
4 June 2026
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The Lipoprotein Insulin Resistance (LP-IR) Test estimates the body’s response to insulin by analyzing patterns in blood fats and assigning a score from zero to 100.—
Samantha Agate,
Sacbee.com,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
Hyatt Regency Lake Washington Budding aviators, plane geeks and those looking for any type of airport job can get a sneak peek without even booking an airline ticket.—
Ramsey Qubein,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
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If the snippets above mean anything to you, congratulations—you’re officially a watch geek.—
Victoria Gomelsky,
Robb Report,
13 May 2026
Verb
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Brittany deduces that the only people who have been in the gym recently were Zack, Danny, and Nia, who used the room during her pool party.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
4 June 2026
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And, after extensive market research, Mattel execs deduced that this target audience liked the idea of oversized male heroes flaunting their power over other people.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
1 June 2026
Verb
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Weston is a junior at Auburn University studying environmental engineering.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
4 June 2026
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In February, Carroll County also passed a 12-month moratorium on data center development, allowing the county to study possible impacts.—
JT Moodee Lockman,
CBS News,
4 June 2026
Verb
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That’s how Ciara found out that Amanda was spending so much time at West’s house while ignoring her calls.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
3 June 2026
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Check with your town or city to find out where public health or cooling centers are near you, particularly if anyone in your household is vulnerable to overheating, heat stress, or other health risks.—
Kat Tretina,
Charlotte Observer,
3 June 2026
Verb
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Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.—
Tim Stelloh,
NBC news,
30 May 2026
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Officers tracked down the Avalanche using license plate-reading cameras and learned it was registered to Camargo Madrigal.—
Harriet Ramos,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 May 2026
Verb
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Eric Celedon said authorities learned that an unidentified man entered the bank and remained inside with an unknown number of community members.—
Greg Wehner , Michael Sinkewicz,
FOXNews.com,
3 June 2026
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After Elayyat was arrested, investigators learned she had been convicted in 2010 for DUI in San Bernardino County.—
Caleb Lunetta,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Swot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swot. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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