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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Luck is the scion of the football program, a lovable nerd who happened to be the best quarterback in football, aka the perfect Stanford athletics niche: smart and good.—
Chris Branch,
New York Times,
1 May 2025
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This is also a great game for nerd families to get together and play for an adventure or two after dinner but before bed.—
Rob Wieland,
Forbes.com,
30 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Cities like Los Angeles and Memphis continue using predictive policing AI to analyze crime patterns and allocate resources.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
3 May 2025
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But the tools used to collect and analyze that data today, including the AI cameras at Sam’s Club, have become more sophisticated.—
Karen Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
2 May 2025
Noun
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Outcasts, loners, nerds, and geeks — our film heroes don't all wear capes.—
EW Staff,
EW.com,
3 Apr. 2025
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Flamboyant theater geek Ezra (Matthew Finlan) makes his shrieks sound especially dramatic.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
2 Apr. 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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In studying adolescent development for more than four decades, she’s found that boys do want intimate friendships.—
Harmeet Kaur,
CNN Money,
4 May 2025
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Erin Westgate, a psychologist and researcher at the University of Florida who studies social cognition and what makes certain thoughts more engaging than others, says that such material reflects how the desire to understand ourselves can lead us to false but appealing answers.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
4 May 2025
Verb
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And the narrative power of this season, the thing that keeps you reading, is the lure of finding out which one of them is true.—
Jack Pitt-Brooke,
New York Times,
10 May 2025
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Take this test to find out how deep your sense of belonging and relationship is with the natural world: Connectedness To Nature Scale Editorial StandardsForbes Accolades Join The Conversation Comments 0 One Community.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
10 May 2025
Verb
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All scripts submitted by partners will be read and reviewed by Academy members.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
5 May 2025
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For our other go-to lawn care tools and gadgets that made it into our frequent rotation, keep reading.—
Alicia Geigel,
Southern Living,
3 May 2025
Verb
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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
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Owner Darrell Wilkerson went to Philadelphia and worked in both the city’s legendary cheesesteak hangouts, Jim’s Steaks and Pat’s King of Steaks, to learn the secrets behind the genuine Philly.—
Bud Kennedy,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
12 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Swot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swot. Accessed 16 May. 2025.
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