swap

American  

[swop] / swɒp /

especially British, swop

verb (used with object)

swaps, present (3rd person singular) swapped, past participle, past swapping present participle

1. to exchange, barter, or trade, as one thing for another.

   He swapped his wrist watch for the radio.

2. 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.

3. to replace (one thing) with another (sometimes followed byout ).

   To cut down on fat, swap cream for milk.

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verb (used without object)

swaps, present (3rd person singular) swapped, past participle, past swapping present participle

1. to make an exchange.

noun

swaps plural

1. an exchange.

   He got the radio in a swap.

swap British  

/ swɒp /

verb

1. to trade or exchange (something or someone) for another

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noun

1. an exchange

2. something that is exchanged

3. 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

• swapper
  noun
• unswapped
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• swaps
  plural

Participles

• swapping
  present
• swapped
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• swap
  simple
• swaps
  simple
• have swapped
  perfect
• has swapped
  perfect
• am swapping
  progressive
• are swapping
  progressive
• is swapping
  progressive
• have been swapping
  perfect progressive
• has been swapping
  perfect progressive

Past

• swapped
  simple
• had swapped
  perfect
• was swapping
  progressive
• were swapping
  progressive
• had been swapping
  perfect progressive

Future

• will swap
  simple
• will have swapped
  perfect
• will be swapping
  progressive
• will have been swapping
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

Swap out your air filter: A clogged filter chokes airflow, forcing your AC to guzzle more power to do the same job.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 29, 2026

After appearing on Swap Shop, he received a signed photograph from presenter Craven, who wrote: "Best wishes on your future travels, Tony. We'll film you again when you've done all the non-league clubs."

From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026

Swap out the poppy seeds for chia seeds and add sesame seeds, onion flakes, garlic powder and flaky sea salt to make an omega-3-rich rendition of the popular Everything Bagel Seasoning.

From Salon • Mar. 31, 2026

Swap traders are pricing in about 50% chance of a third rate cut by December, they added.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026

It's always permissible to reinitialize a swap partition, so select ``Initialize and Activate a Swap Partition'' unless you are sure you know what you are doing.

From Debian GNU/Linux : Guide to Installation and Usage by Goerzen, John

Related Words

• substitute
• switch
• trade