swag
noun
a suspended wreath, garland, drapery, or the like, fastened up at or near each end and hanging down in the middle; festoon.
swag
1 American
[swag]
/ swæg /
noun
-
a suspended wreath, garland, drapery, or the like, fastened up at or near each end and hanging down in the middle; festoon.
-
a wreath, spray, or cluster of foliage, flowers, or fruit.
-
a festoon, especially one very heavy toward the center.
-
a swale.
-
a swaying or lurching movement.
verb (used without object)
swagged,
swagging
-
to move heavily or unsteadily from side to side or up and down; sway.
-
to hang loosely and heavily; sink down.
verb (used with object)
swagged,
swagging
-
to cause to sway, sink, or sag.
-
to hang or adorn with swags.
swag
2
American
[swag]
/ swæg /
Also
sweg
noun
-
Slang.
-
Australian. a traveler's bundle containing personal belongings, cooking utensils, food, or the like.
adjective
verb (used without object)
swagged,
swagging
SWAG
3
American
[swag]
/ swæg /
noun
Slang.
swag
British
/ swæɡ /
noun
-
slang property obtained by theft or other illicit means
-
slang goods; valuables
-
an ornamental festoon of fruit, flowers, or drapery or a representation of this
-
a swaying movement; lurch
-
dialect a depression filled with water, resulting from mining subsidence
-
informal (formerly) a swagman's pack containing personal belongings
-
informal to become a tramp
-
informal lots of
verb
-
to lurch or sag or cause to lurch or sag
-
(tr) to adorn or arrange with swags
-
informal (intr) to tramp about carrying a pack of personal belongings
Etymology
Origin of swag1
First recorded in 1520–30; perhaps from Scandinavian; compare Norwegian svaga, svagga “to sway, rock”
Origin of swag2
First recorded in 1790–1800; special uses of swag 1
Origin of SWAG3
First recorded in 1965–70
Explanation
Swag refers to valuable goods, often obtained illegally. Just because your friend has a bag of swag does not make him a pirate (although the patch and wooden leg might say otherwise). Generally meaning “loot, booty, or plunder,” swag is the stuff in the bags of excited party-goers and plunderers alike. It can also be a bundle carried by a swagman, an Australian migrant worker or drifter. From the Old Norse (re: Viking) sveggja, meaning “to swing or sway,” the verb swag can mean “to sway unsteadily or stagger.” Your bag of swag may swag from its own weight, and you too may swag just trying to carry it.
Vocabulary lists containing swag
Tolkien Reading Day, List 9
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The Stars Beneath Our Feet
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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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:
The millennials’ Williamsburg was not perfect, but at least it was special, and in this era of tech bros sitting at the helm of the neighborhood, it risks losing all swag entirely.
From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2026
Does your relationship have a swag gap, and is that always a bad thing?
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Trombone Shorty: The swagger, he may have created the swag.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 25, 2026
Granted, there isn’t anything during the Washington festivities quite akin to the swag bag given to Oscar nominees.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 24, 2026
“Uncle Greg has all the HD swag you can imagine. Including a pack of onesies and a tiny leather jacket.”
From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon
SWAG, a phrase that has become synonymous with confidence, is the group’s motto and stands for She Wants A Gentleman.
From Washington Times ● May 8, 2016
When it comes to traditional SWAG, fear not, celebrities, the pendulum hasn’t swung too far.
From Washington Post ● May 9, 2012
The offering makes you wonder: Is this the next generation of SWAG?
From Washington Post ● May 9, 2012
It's also its own cheer, as in "SWAG, SWAG, SWAG."
From Salon ● Feb. 17, 2011
He said "he'd done me wery brown," and "nicely STOW'D the SWAG."
From The Humorous Poetry of the English Language; from Chaucer to Saxe by James Parton
The garden sits at the top of a steep rockery with stairs leading to an entry arbor swagged with the sweetly fragrant pink blooms of that original ‘New Dawn’.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 17, 2024
Chapman wore Nike Air Force 1s and a zip-up Jordan brand jacket, prompting LeGrand to say, “Look at you, all swagged out!”
From New York Times ● Apr. 4, 2022
“How they do that? Like NFC, AFC. Who’s the home team technically? Y’all know? I don’t know. Doesn’t matter. We’re going to be swagged out.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 31, 2022
“You saw how I swagged it out a little bit?” he asked.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 11, 2016
The depot was swagged in red, white, and blue bunting.
From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck
But photos in the new 60th anniversary edition of “The White House: An Historic Guide” reveal that there was a whole lot of swagging, fringing and gilding going on upstairs.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 29, 2022
I don’t think I ever really care to watch Homeland again, even if Carrie is swagging around Istanbul.
From Slate ● Dec. 16, 2013
In return, Dakine is swagging these bands out with beanies, backpacks, hoodies, and the like.
From Time Magazine Archive
Fearful tugging, swagging and swaying is conceivable, in this Sterbohol problem!
From History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 18 by Thomas Carlyle
There are gates in this country made in such a manner, that the top rail of the gate overshoots backwards the hind post, so as to counterpoise the gate, and prevent its swagging.
From Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 2 by Thomas Jefferson Randolph
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.
