swap
Americanverb (used with object)
-
swaps,
present (3rd person singular)
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swapped,
past participle, past
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swapping
present participle
-
to exchange, barter, or trade, as one thing for another.
He swapped his wrist watch for the radio.
-
to substitute (one thing) for another (sometimes followed byin ).
Swap in red wine for white, since powerful nutrients are in the red grape's skin.
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to replace (one thing) with another (sometimes followed byout ).
To cut down on fat, swap cream for milk.
verb (used without object)
-
swaps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
swapped,
past participle, past
-
swapping
present participle
noun
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swaps
plural
verb
noun
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an exchange
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something that is exchanged
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Also called: swap option. swaption. finance a contract in which the parties to it exchange liabilities on outstanding debts, often exchanging fixed interest-rate for floating-rate debts ( debt swap ), either as a means of managing debt or in trading ( swap trading )
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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swapsimple
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swapssimple
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have swappedperfect
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has swappedperfect
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am swappingprogressive
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are swappingprogressive
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is swappingprogressive
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have been swappingperfect progressive
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has been swappingperfect progressive
Past
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swappedsimple
-
had swappedperfect
-
was swappingprogressive
-
were swappingprogressive
-
had been swappingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of swap
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English swappen “to strike, strike hands (in bargaining)”; cognate with dialectal German schwappen “to clap, box (the ears)”
Explanation
The word swap means you give something in exchange for something else. In the medieval ages, a farmer would swap — or exchange — his cow for his neighbor's horse. First used in the 1590s to mean "exchange, barter, trade," as a noun swap can mean an equal exchange. You might do a clothes swap with one of your friends in the hopes of perking up your wardrobe. As a verb swap describes the act of exchanging something for something else. You might swap oil for applesauce when baking brownies to make this treat healthier. In computer science swap means you move a piece of a computer program into memory.
Vocabulary lists containing swap
"Culture Clash"
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for September 17–September 23, 2022
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Ship Breaker
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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:
Krasikov was later freed in a prisoner swap.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Or you can find a cheaper booking on your own and ask the agent to swap out the pricier item in your itinerary.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
It will ask if you would like to swap days, then handle the changes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
In the years after the swap meet, my special interest became finding Prada accessories that prominently featured hardware, which was easier than the uninitiated might imagine.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
A brother to swap stories with, who’d learn about history from me and teach me how to do my sums.
From "Worth" by A. LaFaye
The Gulf state has brokered dozens of prisoner swaps between Moscow and Kyiv since the start of the war.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Now, with “No Me Arrepiento de Sentir Tanto” — which in English translates to “I Don’t Regret Feeling So Much” — Karol G swaps her vibrant, tropical facade for a soft blue vulnerability.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
The derivatives marketplaces alleges that perpetuals aren’t actually futures contracts but instead act as swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act, which would mean they should be subject to stricter rules and blocked from retail traders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Take the inflation swaps that are just one of the inputs to the Cleveland Fed’s model.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
If credit default swaps were insurance, why weren’t they regulated as insurance?
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
He and wife Meghan Markle -- who together swapped Britain for California six years ago -- return still estranged from Harry's heir-to-the-throne brother William and wife Princess Catherine.
From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026
Even the sober Gen Zers I know still go out — they’ve just swapped negronis for mocktails.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
Thailand cut excise taxes on imported electric cars and the country’s prime minister recently swapped his Rolls-Royce for a BYD as part of a national push to save energy, according to local news reports.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
And Gareth Bale and Eden Hazard swapped London for Madrid after establishing themselves among the Premier League's leading players.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Dad and I ate all of ours, and Mum and Kat swapped their last slice and left only bits of the crust, which meant that everybody had been extremely hungry.
From "The London Eye Mystery" by Siobhan Dowd
Who else sees “Instagzam”? Instagram unveiled its first brand refresh in a decade, swapping its classic cursive wordmark for a hybrid script that is drawing mixed reactions online.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Song, an independent AI developer himself, is one of many swapping the most cutting-edge, bells-and-whistles -- and expensive -- models, like Anthropic's Fable 5, for leaner alternatives like V4 Flash.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
It is a curious diagnosis from an administration whose senior officials have lately been swapping notes on a regimen nicknamed the “sauerkraut diet.”
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
Levy told the crowd that he and Gosling spent a lot of their downtime on set daydreaming about Ghost Rider and swapping ideas.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Ida was leaning over a lineup of photographs; She was pushing them around, swapping them, and sorting some of them out.
From "The Thief Lord" by Cornelia Funke
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.
