swagger
Americanverb (used without object)
-
swaggers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
swaggered,
past participle, past
-
swaggering
present participle
-
to walk or strut with a defiant or insolent air.
-
to boast or brag noisily.
verb (used with object)
-
swaggers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
swaggered,
past participle, past
-
swaggering
present participle
noun
-
swaggers
plural
verb
-
(intr) to walk or behave in an arrogant manner
-
to brag loudly
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rare (tr) to force, influence, etc, by blustering
noun
adjective
noun
Synonym Usage
See strut 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
swaggersimple
-
swaggerssimple
-
have swaggeredperfect
-
has swaggeredperfect
-
am swaggeringprogressive
-
are swaggeringprogressive
-
is swaggeringprogressive
-
have been swaggeringperfect progressive
-
has been swaggeringperfect progressive
Past
-
swaggeredsimple
-
had swaggeredperfect
-
was swaggeringprogressive
-
were swaggeringprogressive
-
had been swaggeringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of swagger
Explanation
Picture the confident, maybe even arrogant way a pirate, a cowboy, or even a rapper might stroll around. That style of walking is called a swagger. Swagger can also be used as a verb. After you ace a test you might swagger down the hall feeling pretty full of yourself. In verb form it can also refer to more aggressive behavior like bullying or intimidating others. Hopefully you wouldn’t swagger down the hall doing that though!
Vocabulary lists containing swagger
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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Words from Shakespearean Insults
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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:
A swashbuckling swagger was all part of the culture as well.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
It just has to find a way to get its swagger back.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
It became one of the key images in the promotion of her Brat album, matching the the music's debauched swagger and emotional candour.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
As Randolph described it, Wallace has a cocky swagger but he backs it up by being the hardest worker on the team every day.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
Nick crosses the dance floor with actual swagger.
From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli
When Gustav swaggers back into the daughters’ lives to play the cheery grandfather and beloved papa, both are skeptical.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025
Johansson’s tough security expert swaggers, Ali smiles and our sturdy goodwill for both actors keeps us from holding the movie against them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2025
The critics said: “Catchy as hell and swaggers out of the speakers with an infectious joy.”
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2024
In his latest, “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” Cage fidgets and swaggers and smiles so broadly he looks ready to swallow the screen whole.
From New York Times ● Apr. 21, 2022
He looks quickly from side to side, and when he realizes that no one in the crowd has noticed anything, he straightens his lapels in righteous indignation and swaggers toward the back entrance.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
In Canterbury, the mayor swaggered around the public square pressuring townsfolk to open their businesses, drawing an angry crowd of onlookers.
From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2024
He swaggered through high school, told teammates he was great, and in the minor leagues in the early 1960s, he infuriated other players by appearing to try too hard.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2024
Then he put his hands in his pockets and swaggered around the stage.
From New York Times ● Apr. 29, 2024
With his hood up, Joshua swaggered to the stage, keeping focus firmly on Wallin.
From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2023
Captain Strait swaggered out from the ranks of 234 as though he had a long and distinguished history of victory in contests of this ilk.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
With the swaggering Wyatt-Hodge in this form - she now has the most runs ever at a single women's T20 World Cup - anything feels possible.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
Svelte but swaggering, tender yet macho — this hairy-chested torch song might be the singer’s finest vocal performance.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
It’s funny because it’s swaggering, full-of-itself New York, and the Mets are one of baseball’s most profligate franchises, a free-spending, $360-million payroll outfit owned by zillionaire financier Steve Cohen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
It is now narrowly focused on District of Columbia news and politics, making it less a swaggering international newspaper than a publication whose purview matches Politico’s.
From Slate ● Feb. 7, 2026
“I can read Shakespeare,” he told her, swaggering.
From "Messenger" by Lois Lowry
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.
