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
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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
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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:
The sound, the look, the swagger: The three steps that vaulted Anne Rice’s seductive bloodsucker from ‘Interview With the Vampire’ to the top of the mosh pit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
What I remember most, though, is that beneath all the swagger, Choi’s argument was really about self-compassion.
From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2026
At several concerts, the singer balanced his tambourine on his head, adding a touch of mad clown to his rock swagger.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
Senate in Michigan, whose self-confident swagger and immigrant-family story have invited the comparison.
From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026
Nor was the resonant swagger of its nickname accidental.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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
Howard swaggers in his presence like the man with nothing to lose that he is.
From Salon ● May 24, 2022
Jackson swaggers up, his derby pulled low over his eyes.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
After Spencer pinned Matthew Maynard - an England international - leg before wicket, Richards swaggered to the crease to a standing ovation.
From BBC ● Dec. 1, 2025
However, Gauff was unable to wrestle momentum back her way as Paolini swaggered through the remainder of the set.
From BBC ● May 17, 2025
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
The crew of the Putnam shouted and swaggered.
From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham
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
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
Just two months after appearing as the swaggering Kilgore in “Apocalypse Now,” Duvall offered a more intimate variation on a military man — essentially Kilgore without an actual war, just a domestic battlefield.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 17, 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
As Mr. Fun turned away to talk to them, Adam came swaggering over to the Hardys.
From "Trouble at the Arcade (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #1)" by Franklin W. Dixon
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.
