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• swan
  swan

  noun

  any of several large, stately aquatic birds of the subfamily Anserinae, having a long, slender neck and usually pure-white plumage in the adult.
• Swan
  Swan

  noun

  Sir Joseph Wilson, 1828–1914, British chemist, electrical engineer, and inventor.

swan

¹ American  

[swon] / swɒn /

noun

• swans
  plural

1. any of several large, stately aquatic birds of the subfamily Anserinae, having a long, slender neck and usually pure-white plumage in the adult.

2. a person or thing of unusual beauty, excellence, purity, or the like.

3. Literary. a person who sings sweetly or a poet.

4. Astronomy. Swan, the constellation Cygnus.

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swan ² American  

[swon] / swɒn /

verb (used without object)

• swans,
  present (3rd person singular)
• swanned,
  past participle,  past
• swanning
  present participle

1. Midland and Southern U.S. Older Use. to swear or declare (used withI ).

   Well, I swan, I never expected to see you here!

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Swan ³ American  

[swon] / swɒn /

noun

1. Sir Joseph Wilson, 1828–1914, British chemist, electrical engineer, and inventor.

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swan ¹ British  

/ swɒn /

noun

1. any large aquatic bird of the genera Cygnus and Coscoroba, having a long neck and usually a white plumage: family Anatidae, order Anseriformes

2. rare

   1. a poet

   2. ( capital when part of a title or epithet )

      the Swan of Avon (Shakespeare)

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verb

1. informal (intr; usually foll by around or about) to wander idly

Swan ² British  

/ swɒn /

noun

1. a river in SW Western Australia, rising as the Avon northeast of Narrogin and flowing northwest and west to the Indian Ocean below Perth. Length: about 240 km (150 miles)

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Swan ³ British  

/ swɒn /

noun

1. Sir Joseph Wilson. 1828–1914, English physicist and chemist, who developed the incandescent electric light (1880) independently of Edison

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• swanlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• swans
  plural

Participles

• swanning
  present
• swanned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• swan
  simple
• swans
  simple
• have swanned
  perfect
• has swanned
  perfect
• am swanning
  progressive
• are swanning
  progressive
• is swanning
  progressive
• have been swanning
  perfect progressive
• has been swanning
  perfect progressive

Past

• swanned
  simple
• had swanned
  perfect
• was swanning
  progressive
• were swanning
  progressive
• had been swanning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will swan
  simple
• will have swanned
  perfect
• will be swanning
  progressive
• will have been swanning
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of swan¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with German Schwan, Old Norse svanr

Origin of swan²

1775–85, probably continuing dial. (N England) I s'wan, shortening of I shall warrant

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Explanation

In "The Ugly Duckling," a young bird is mistaken for a duck until it grows up to be a beautiful swan. A swan is a large bird with a long, elegant neck. You're most likely to see swans in the water, but they also spend some time on land. Baby swans are called cygnets, and as adults, they're either cobs (if male), or pens (if female). If you're lucky enough to see a whole group of swans swimming or flying together, you can call it a bevy of swans. Swan comes from a root meaning "to sing."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

swan Swan swans swanned swanning

In the most recent report, nearly 80 percent of companies ranked trade policy changes among the four top threats, alongside weakness in the US economy, an external or "black swan" event, and poor vehicle sales.

From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026

He said: "I started on Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, and now Wonka's The Golden Ticket is my swan song. I've just ended my career on Willy Wonka. Isn't that wonderful?"

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

On the other end is the black swan — you do not know the possibilities or the probabilities.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

In January, she starred as Odette and the black swan Odile in “Swan Lake” and in May she performed “Coppelia.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

“It’s not a bird, what? Too big to be a swan, eh? The pigs haven’t begun to grow wings, have they? Har har!”

From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood

“The Swan: Behind the Mirror” is streaming on Hulu.

From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026

“I’m not mad at them,” one former Swan says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

Swan Song: Diana, My Sister is due to be published next week and is expected to be highly critical of the Royal Family.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

“To use AI tools effectively for cybersecurity, we need people to operate and oversee them,” said Matt Fredrikson, a professor at Carnegie Mellon and chief executive and co-founder of security firm Gray Swan AI.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

The letter made it back to Black Swan Green, just a few days ago.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

Castle Point Borough Council said it was "very saddened" by the loss of the swans and recognised the impact the deaths would have on residents.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

Mary, on the other hand, is a clumsy bird who, in Hadlow’s telling, becomes a perfectly capable duckling swimming fiercely amid a bevy of swans.

From Salon ● May 20, 2026

"I hate any kind of pollution to be honest, there's blue and green algae here, there's bird flu, ducks and swans dying."

From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2026

“It looks very shortsighted to me,” said Mark Green as he fed scraps of stale bread to a group of swans gliding along Christchurch’s waterfront.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 19, 2026

The swans were a bit scary, especially when they had a nest or babies, because then they are sometimes aggressive.

From "My Life with the Chimpanzees" by Jane Goodall

The judges liberally doled out scores of 10 to the performers, who swanned deftly across the parquet flooring in colorful, “Alice in Wonderland”-inspired costumes.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2025

But Laing told The Sunday Times it was wrong to assume he "just swanned in".

From BBC ● Mar. 3, 2024

A recent Tuesday night found him as Santa-in-residence at Stoup Brewing in Ballard, where, trailed by a photographer, Lorang swanned around like a minor celebrity, mingling with patrons and posing for photos with fans.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 22, 2021

Under cloudless skies, ladies swanned about in colorful broad-brimmed hats and gentlemen donned seersucker suits, the trademark pageantry of the sport of kings.

From Salon ● Dec. 10, 2021

Wearing soft, loose clothing of vampire-bat wool, he swanned around his palaces with a bowl of palm wine or chicha, a sweet, muddy, beer-like drink usually made from crushed maize.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Whether you’re swanning around with an iPhone, a gold Rolex watch, a diamond ring or a string of pearls, try not to flash them when you’re out in public.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 3, 2026

There was a lot of scrambling, but there has been a great vibe, with everyone excited for the celebs to start swanning in.

From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2024

Though she looks young and hip, she’s truly an old soul who dreams of living like her dear grandmother, swanning about in colorful caftans, not caring about what other people think.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 11, 2022

The store sent models swanning through the tea room in the latest for-sale styles as guests chose from a ladies-who-lunch menu whose dishes bore names like the Wilshire Tower.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 14, 2021

She took no time for posturing or swanning, but tilted immediately off in a stiff dive, angling toward the west side of the tank.

From The Little Lady of the Big House by Jack London

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