swipe
Americannoun
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swipes
plural
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a swing of the arm, paw, etc., in order to strike someone or something.
He made a swipe at me, but I ducked!
A swipe from the cat could mean an injured eye for your new pup.
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a critical or cutting remark.
Her speech contained a few nasty swipes at the other leading candidate.
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a swift pass of something over a surface or through a slot.
You can debit your checking account with just a swipe of your card.
It’ll take more than a few swipes with a sponge to clean this sink.
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a strong, sweeping blow or stroke.
It only took two swipes with the ax to bring the sapling down.
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a sideswipe.
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a leverlike device for raising or lowering a weight, especially a bucket in a well; sweep.
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Also called rubber. Horse Racing. a person who rubs down horses in a stable; groom.
verb (used with object)
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swipes,
present (3rd person singular)
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swiped,
past participle, past
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swiping
present participle
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Informal. to steal.
He'll swipe anything that isn't nailed down.
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to slide (a magnetic card) quickly through an electronic device that reads data.
Just swipe your credit card if tapping doesn’t work.
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Digital Technology. to move a finger or fingers across an area on (a touchscreen) in order to execute a command.
Swipe the screen upward to unlock your phone.
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to hit, brush, or wipe with a swift, sweeping stroke.
I swiped my face with my sleeve.
verb (used without object)
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swipes,
present (3rd person singular)
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swiped,
past participle, past
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swiping
present participle
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to make a swift, sweeping stroke.
The waiter swiped at our table with a damp cloth.
The giant swiped at the mouse with his boulder-sized fists.
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to slide a magnetic card through an electronic device.
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Digital Technology. to move the fingers across a touchscreen.
Swipe down from the top to find your Favorites.
idioms
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swipe left,
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Digital Technology. to move the fingers to the left on a touchscreen: originally, on some sites, a way to close or dismiss something.
Users of the dating app can swipe left to indicate they are not interested in the photos and move on to the next person.
Tap on the icon and swipe left to begin recording.
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to reject something or someone (often used withon ).
You’ll find nicer apartments than this—swipe left!
Even with a six-figure salary, I think I’d swipe left on that job.
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swipe right,
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Digital Technology. to move the fingers to the right on a touchscreen: originally, on some sites, a way to open, approve, or opt for something.
Swipe right on the profile to send the person a message.
Swipe right to continue.
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to choose in favor of something or someone; approve (often used withon ).
An iced cappuccino on a hot day like today—I’ll swipe right on that!
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verb
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informal to hit hard with a sweeping blow
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slang (tr) to steal
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(tr) to pass a machine-readable card, such as a credit card, debit card, etc, through a machine that electronically interprets the information encoded, usu. in a magnetic strip, on the card
noun
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informal a hard blow
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an unexpected criticism of someone or something while discussing another subject
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Also called: sweep. a type of lever for raising and lowering a weight, such as a bucket in a well
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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swipesimple
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swipessimple
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have swipedperfect
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has swipedperfect
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am swipingprogressive
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are swipingprogressive
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is swipingprogressive
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have been swipingperfect progressive
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has been swipingperfect progressive
Past
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swipedsimple
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had swipedperfect
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was swipingprogressive
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were swipingprogressive
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had been swipingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of swipe
First recorded in 1730–40; cognate with German schweifen; see also sweep 1 ( def. )
Explanation
When you swipe something, you move it in a sweeping motion, like the way you swipe your credit card through a reader. Swipe can also mean "to steal," like when your little sisters swipe the cookies you baked before they cool. You might swipe at the mosquitos buzzing around your head at a summer picnic, or swipe your finger across a touchscreen to sign for a purchase. When used to mean "steal," swipe is a gentle kind of verb: it's not quite "burglarize," but closer to "sneak off with." This newer meaning comes from American prison slang, first appearing in the 1880s.
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:
When I call a ride-share car, I don’t have to swipe my card or hand cash to the driver.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Many legacy dating apps already use AI to enhance their swipe algorithms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
According to the criminal complaint, Truelove sneaked into a restricted area of the Rockefeller Plaza lobby just before 9 a.m. on July 16, following an employee who used an identification card to swipe in.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
He then explained that by swiping left, calls are placed in the stack requiring further triage by a nurse or paramedic, but a swipe right means they're in the wait for an ambulance.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
She managed another swipe with her umbrella but the blow glanced off the cars roof.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
"You've only got a few seconds before someone swipes past the message you're trying to deliver".
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
The Mastercard of the IPO era was all about card swipes — not dips and taps — and “our main focus was cash displacement,” said Jorn Lambert, the company’s chief product officer.
From MarketWatch ● May 25, 2026
As her male opponents bickered back and forth, taking swipes at each other, Porter said that given all the “shouting” and “disrespect” onstage, she was shocked that “anyone wants to talk about my temperament.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
The selloff began after Anthropic announced that its Claude Code tool could automate the modernization of COBOL, a decades-old programming language that underpins most ATM transactions and in-person credit card swipes.
From Barron's ● Feb. 24, 2026
She stared at herself in the mirror, reached for her mother’s eyeliner, and made violent swipes on her cheeks.
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
Bids rose fast, so rather than type a custom bid, many buyers swiped the yellow bar at the bottom of the screen, which automatically submits an offer a few dollars over the current top bid.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Shredded rotisserie chicken, swiped with Boursin and tucked into the puff pastry you “always keep in the freezer” in case someone drops by with Champagne?
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
Just one month later, the property was once again swiped from the rental block, until June 16, 2026, when the home was listed for sale for just under $3.7 million, Realtor.com can exclusively reveal.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 26, 2026
Jamie Smith made 39, Atkinson 14 and Robinson swiped 29.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
I saw her swallow hard, and I averted my eyes as she swiped at hers with the back of her hand.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
"People are realising constant swiping isn't actually leading to real-world dates, which only heightens dating fatigue," said Ryan.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Some singles are turning to AI-trained matchmakers as they burn out on swiping.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Artificial-intelligence startups are launching AI-trained matchmakers to offer streamlined dating options to users tired of swiping.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
He then explained that by swiping left, calls are placed in the stack requiring further triage by a nurse or paramedic, but a swipe right means they're in the wait for an ambulance.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
They watched Siobhan's pixies swiping self-twisting hair ribbons, charm-yarn, and emo-gems while Siobhan admired the starscopes and astrolabes.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
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.
