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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

It’s hard to disagree, even as we mourn as his final effort this swan song account of Canada, the land of his ancestors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

"This is my swan song too. I'm not here to bang on about Diana, this is my final word, celebration of her," he added.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

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

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

She constantly touches her hair and adjusts her makeup like a swan preening in the sunshine.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

That memory sat at the bottom of my mind’s darkest well until I watched Erin Lee Carr’s “The Swan: Behind the Mirror.”

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.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 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

“I’ve been thinking,” the Night Swan said to Josiah, one evening when they were sitting in her room.

From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko

Siobhan and the team have been working tirelessly to help revive the birds which include geese, ducks and swans.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 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

“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

Caitlyn joined her first workshop with Paul, photographing swans at Hogganfield Loch in north Glasgow in March last year.

From BBC ● Dec. 30, 2025

It was Mabel Swip Memorial Hospital, and next to that was Swip Pond, where Mrs. Sylvester went to feed the swans.

From "Raymie Nightingale" by Kate DiCamillo

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

From BBC ● Mar. 3, 2024

After days of public festivities, celebrities and royalty decked out in designer clothing swanned about an opulent palace.

From New York Times ● Sep. 2, 2023

For over a decade, Faye and Manny swanned about in the village pond, and each spring hatched and raised cygnets.

From Seattle Times ● May 31, 2023

In New York City, Madonna famously swanned into a party hosted by DJ trio the Misshapes to promote her 2005 disco-pop album “Confessions on a Dance Floor.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 6, 2022

He kept one eye on Sam Houston, who was known for his wild pitches, and the other on Lula’s older cousin, Fern Spitty, who swanned about nearby, twirling her white lace-trimmed parasol.

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly

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

"It is one thing swanning around saying 'this is a wonderful team to play in', 'we are creating the best environment'," Pietersen told Sky Sports.

From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2023

“So the last thing you’d expect is for proto-sharks and proto-bony fish to be swanning around at the same time.”

From New York Times ● Sep. 28, 2022

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

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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