swoop

American  

[swoop] / swup /

verb (used without object)

1. to sweep through the air, as a bird or a bat, especially down upon prey.

2. to come down upon something in a sudden, swift attack (often followed by down and on orupon ).

   The army swooped down on the town.

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verb (used with object)

1. to take, lift, scoop up, or remove with or as with one sweeping motion (often followed by up, away, oroff ).

   He swooped her up in his arms.

noun

1. an act or instance of swooping; a sudden, swift descent.

   Synonyms:

   drop , sweep , plunge , dive

idioms

1. at / in one fell swoop,  all at once or all together, as if by one blow.

   The quake flattened the houses at one fell swoop.

swoop British  

/ swuːp /

verb

1. (intr; usually foll by down, on, or upon) to sweep or pounce suddenly

2. (tr; often foll by up, away, or off) to seize or scoop suddenly

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noun

1. the act of swooping

2. a swift descent

swoop More Idioms  

1. see one fell swoop.

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Etymology

Origin of swoop

1535–45; variant (with close ō ) of Middle English swopen, Old English swāpan to sweep ¹; cognate with German schweifen

Example Sentences

A private for-profit company, American Advanced Management, swooped to the rescue of Glenn Medical and a nearby hospital in Colusa County, buying them and keeping them open.

From Los Angeles Times

U.S. stocks staged a furious comeback rally on Friday as investors once again swooped in to buy the dip ahead of the weekend.

From MarketWatch

In the past, even a solid report paired with an improved financial outlook hasn’t been enough to impress the chipmaker’s investors, sending shares lower the next day before more buyers swooped in.

From The Wall Street Journal

In her introduction, she swoops over the poppy fields to free the enslaved oxen forced to build the Yellow Brick Road.

From Los Angeles Times

Guided by a pilot, the unmanned craft swooped through the winter sky on the hunt to destroy its target: a simulated version of one of the attack drones Moscow regularly uses to terrorise Ukraine.

From Barron's

Related Words

• dive
• plummet
• pounce