swift
adjective
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swift
1 American
[swift]
/ swɪft /
adjective
-
swifter,
comparative
-
swiftest
superlative
-
moving or capable of moving with great speed or velocity; fleet; rapid.
a swift ship.
- Synonyms:
- speedy
-
coming, happening, or performed quickly or without delay.
a swift decision.
- Synonyms:
- expeditious
-
quick or prompt to act or respond.
swift to jump to conclusions.
-
Slang. quick to perceive or understand; smart; clever.
You can't cheat him, he's too swift.
adverb
noun
-
swifts
plural
-
any of numerous long-winged, swallowlike birds of the family Apodidae, related to the hummingbirds and noted for their rapid flight.
-
Also called ghost moth. Also called swift moth. any of several brown or gray moths, the males of which are usually white, of the family Hepialidae, noted for rapid flight.
-
an adjustable device upon which a hank of yarn is placed in order to wind off skeins or balls.
-
the main cylinder on a machine for carding flax.
Swift
2
American
[swift]
/ swɪft /
noun
-
Gustavus Franklin, 1839–1903, U.S. meat packer.
-
Jonathan Isaac Bickerstaff, 1667–1745, English satirist and clergyman, born in Ireland.
SWIFT
3
American
[swift]
/ swɪft /
noun
swift
1
British
/ swɪft /
adjective
-
moving or able to move quickly; fast
-
occurring or performed quickly or suddenly; instant
a swift response
-
prompt to act or respond
swift to take revenge
adverb
noun
-
any bird of the families Apodidae and Hemiprocnidae, such as Apus apus ( common swift ) of the Old World: order Apodiformes. They have long narrow wings and spend most of the time on the wing
-
(sometimes capital) a variety of domestic fancy pigeon originating in Egypt and Syria and having an appearance somewhat similar to a swift
-
short for swift moth
-
any of certain North American lizards of the genera Sceloporus and Uta that can run very rapidly: family Iguanidae (iguanas)
-
the main cylinder in a carding machine
-
an expanding circular frame used to hold skeins of silk, wool, etc
Swift
2
British
/ swɪft /
noun
-
Graham Colin. born 1949, English writer: his novels include Waterland (1983), Last Orders (1996), which won the Booker prize, and The Light of Day (2002)
-
Jonathan. 1667–1745, Anglo-Irish satirist and churchman, who became dean of St Patrick's, Dublin, in 1713. His works include A Tale of a Tub (1704) and Gulliver's Travels (1726)
Synonym Usage
See quick.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of swift1
First recorded before 900; Middle English (adjective and adverb), Old English (adjective); akin to Old English swīfan “to revolve,” Old Norse svīfa “to rove”; see swivel
Origin of SWIFT3
First recorded in 1970–75
Explanation
If you were the first one to reach the finish line in gym class, the coach might have called you swift. Swift means quick or fast-moving. A glance, a current, even a decision can be swift. You can use the adjective swift to describe things that move or happen rapidly and smoothly. Deciding to borrow a parent's car without permission could result in swift punishment. Foxes are so swift that if you leave the chicken coop open for a moment, one might slip in. Conversely, if innuendo sails over your head, your friends might say, “You’re not too swift on the uptake, are you?” A swift is also a small bird that looks a lot like a swallow.
Vocabulary lists containing swift
"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act II
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act III
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
After the allegations were picked up in the press, there was a swift pushback.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Muluh, 29, also says she feels the sport's world governing body, the International Powerlifting Federation, "failed" her following the incident, and that swift action is only happening now as the story has grown.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
About three months later, Carr publicly endorsed the deal on CNBC, promising swift approval.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
Von der Leyen commended Sanchez on the "swift handling" of the crisis that saw tens of thousands of people stream into Ceuta from Morocco -- almost all of whom have since left.
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
I said now as the buttonhook in Betsie’s swift fingers sped up my shoes, “you could fit the fur hat right inside the bonnet! Then when you get outside, take the bonnet off!”
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
“Reaching the level of a Swift equivalent would be very ambitious,” said Thomas, who has studied A7.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
The shocking incident barely registered in the US news, dominated that balmy July 2 night by the wedding of pop superstar Taylor Swift at Madison Square Garden on the other side of Manhattan.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
The group, called Swift Partners, includes several seasoned retail veterans, one of them a former boss of Co-operative Group.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
As much as we might wish otherwise, Kylie Jenner and Taylor Swift are not like us, and we cannot measure their autonomy and power on the same scale as ours.
From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026
Those few black souls lucky enough to get work from Swift and the other meatpackers were good union men, treated as members of the butcher brotherhood.
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
While volumes remain relatively small compared to oil or gas trade, the signal is unmistakable: Alternatives to SWIFT, the international payments messaging system, are on the table.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 2, 2025
More than 20 banks in Russia now use China’s version of SWIFT.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 27, 2023
Its share of world trade financing, according to SWIFT, has increased to 4.5% in February from 1.3% two years ago.
From Reuters ● Apr. 27, 2023
The allies have also frozen the assets of individuals and Russian banks, and severely limited Russia’s access to the international payment system, known as SWIFT.
From New York Times ● Oct. 7, 2022
Kok, a Dutch businessman of extreme wealth, was president of a Belgium-based banking company, SWIFT, and was responsible for organizing several international tournaments.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Others have raised environmental concerns over colonies of common swifts nesting in the park.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
Brewer, who has been documenting swifts, said she had previously seen birds entering gaps in the structure and believed several nests were present.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
"This is a structure that wasn't known to exist outside of hummingbirds, but our CT scans revealed that swifts have these vocal folds in the same position," Clarke said.
From Science Daily ● May 23, 2024
Some of the houses include solar slate roofs and built-in bird boxes to attract swifts.
From Washington Post ● May 2, 2023
Out past the kitchen window, swifts swoop for insects, and the filaments of a spiderweb catch the light and shine for an instant and are gone.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
Away from the tracks, the average maximum download speed for UK households and small businesses is a much swifter 285 Mbps, according to Ofcom.
From BBC ● May 30, 2026
As this technology developed, the photographs became more detailed and the animations swifter and smoother.
From Slate ● May 25, 2026
Its taxi fleet is contracting at a swifter pace, with the fleet size falling 8.7% on year in 4Q 2025, double the 4.1% drop in 4Q 2024, the head of research notes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026
But few players were swifter around the bases, and managers enlisted him as a pinch runner in close, late-innings games.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 7, 2026
Everything was fine until we reached midstream, where the current was much swifter.
From "Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls
The rebel offensive which began nine days ago is the swiftest battlefield advance by either side since the civil war.
From BBC ● Dec. 6, 2024
Miguel, posted the swiftest qualifying time, a wind-aided 10.27 — the fastest time in California this year — just minutes after Bakersfield sophomore Jalen Ford won his heat in a wind-aided 10.34.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 25, 2024
According to three of the commanders interviewed by The Times, the diplomatic route would be the swiftest way of returning the Israelis who remain in captivity.
From New York Times ● Jan. 20, 2024
They say it is the swiftest, most humane thing to do and that it would solve the problem before it becomes impossible to fix.
From Scientific American ● Jun. 6, 2023
Only a giant would have had the strength to sink the massive pillars there, in the deepest, swiftest section of the river.
From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
