swastika

American  

[swos-ti-kuh, swas-] / ˈswɒs tɪ kə, ˈswæs- /

noun

• swastikas
  plural

1. a figure used as a symbol or an ornament in the Old World and in America since prehistoric times, consisting of a cross with arms of equal length, each arm having a continuation at right angles.

2. this figure as the official emblem of the Nazi party and the Third Reich.

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swastika British  

/ ˈswɒstɪkə /

noun

1. a primitive religious symbol or ornament in the shape of a Greek cross, usually having the ends of the arms bent at right angles in either a clockwise or anticlockwise direction

2. this symbol with clockwise arms, officially adopted in 1935 as the emblem of Nazi Germany

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• swastikaed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• swastikas
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of swastika

1850–55; < Sanskrit svastika, equivalent to su- good, well (cognate with Greek eu- eu- ) + as- be ( see is) + -ti- abstract noun suffix + -ka secondary noun suffix

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

swastika swastikas

The shoot for the upcoming movie Operation Fortitude would have involved draping the building in flags bearing the swastika.

From BBC ● Jan. 10, 2026

While browsing a map of Madrid from 1940, Mr. Cheshire spotted a stamp in the top-left corner identifying its provenance: a black swastika.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025

Rep. Dave Taylor responded to reports that a flag bearing a swastika was spotted in his office on Wednesday, calling it “vile and deeply inappropriate.”

From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2025

In very rare circumstances, a German typewriter would be made with a dedicated swastika key, like this one at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

From Slate ● Mar. 16, 2024

“Near the bridge, in the willow thicket on the river bank, lay the broken-up machine with a black spider of a swastika on its tail unit,” said Nina.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

Julie Menin, speaker of the New York City Council, wrote on social media that "multiple synagogues and private homes in Queens were vandalized overnight with swastikas and other antisemitic graffiti."

From Barron's ● May 4, 2026

Lunday said the reports of labeling swastikas and nooses as divisive were “categorically false.”

From Salon ● Nov. 21, 2025

The idea was the result of Greek-German cooperation ahead of the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany, which were heavy on fanfare — and swastikas.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 15, 2024

In the same way, the museum has rearranged a pile of captured Nazi banners to obscure the swastikas.

From New York Times ● Jan. 26, 2024

Does it make me a bad person that I find their sympathy almost as upsetting as the swastikas that bring it on?

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman

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