swoop

American  

[swoop] / swup /

verb (used without object)

• swoops,
  present (3rd person singular)
• swooped,
  past participle,  past
• swooping
  present participle

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)

• swoops,
  present (3rd person singular)
• swooped,
  past participle,  past
• swooping
  present participle

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

• swoops
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• swoops
  plural

Participles

• swooping
  present
• swooped
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• swoop
  simple
• swoops
  simple
• have swooped
  perfect
• has swooped
  perfect
• am swooping
  progressive
• are swooping
  progressive
• is swooping
  progressive
• have been swooping
  perfect progressive
• has been swooping
  perfect progressive

Past

• swooped
  simple
• had swooped
  perfect
• was swooping
  progressive
• were swooping
  progressive
• had been swooping
  perfect progressive

Future

• will swoop
  simple
• will have swooped
  perfect
• will be swooping
  progressive
• will have been swooping
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of swoop

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

Explanation

To swoop is to move downward quickly and dramatically, like an eagle that swoops down to catch its prey. A swoop is an impressive movement best demonstrated by a bird. If a bird is high in the air, then moves down quickly, making an arc or loop, that's an example of a swoop. People can also swoop — three muggers might swoop in on a victim, for example. The phrase "one fell swoop" means "all at once," and Shakespeare used it first, in "Macbeth:" "What, All my pretty Chickens, and their Dam, At one fell swoop?"

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

swoop swoops swooped swooping

Retail investors’ increasingly active approach to trading the markets could create more of a buffer for equity prices, Rubner said, given their tendency to swoop in and buy on weakness.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026

“In one fell swoop, thousands of Haitians and Syrians now risk losing the right to live and work in the country they call home.”

From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026

Within days they were all arrested, with Huntley stopped in a dramatic swoop by police on a National Express coach.

From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is preparing to stage the largest public offering ever, selling $75 billion worth of shares in one fell swoop.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

And all of a sudden Will felt like crying, the way that kind of sorrow would swoop in and punch him in the gut.

From "Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story" by Nora Raleigh Baskin

After the parade, the New York City Department of Sanitation swoops into action to sweep up the thousands of pounds of paper.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026

A single bird swoops into the sick room, landing on the bedpost.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 26, 2026

Portimao is a 2.89-mile track that swoops over hilly terrain and is highly regarded for its driving challenge.

From BBC ● Dec. 16, 2025

Murmurations of birds swirl above rugged plains, landscapes shift into geometric compositions, and uncanny juxtapositions—a shirt dangling from a tree as a lone bird swoops by—lend seemingly simple pictures eerie characteristics.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025

Molly looks at the perfect swoops hitting the broken line in exactly the same spot.

From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline

But the fins are swooped up by traders for the international markets, where they are used in shark-fin soup.

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

In late 2024, the so-called “BATMANN” stocks swooped to the market’s rescue.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 16, 2026

The first time I interviewed him in 2001, an aide swooped in just before the cameras went live and snatched away the small water glasses on the table in front of us.

From BBC ● May 30, 2026

After the restaurant was shuttered in 1984, Inouye swooped in to rescue Chicken Boy and place him in protective storage — for years, as it turned out.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026

Because ever since that doctor swooped in, with his grand gestures and his medical language and his coffee breath, I’ve checked out.

From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day

Even a swooping hawk couldn’t resist perching on a tree overlooking the makeshift stage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

Frasers has built a reputation for swooping in to buy retail brands which have fallen into administration, but its gradual increase in ownership of profit-making Hugo Boss over several years is a different approach.

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026

In the mornings, Christine eagerly awaits the brightly colored, highly vocal birds swooping into their garden, whooping their greetings before flying off into the junglelike foliage.

From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2026

Muckle is primarily invested in index funds but regularly buys the dip in individual stocks, he said, sometimes waiting to see negative headlines about a company or sector before swooping in.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 1, 2026

Henry began flapping his arms and swooping in circles, being a bird.

From "Wringer" by Jerry Spinelli

Related Words

• dive
• plummet
• pounce