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• swat
  swat

  verb (used with object)

  to hit; slap; smack.
• Swat
  Swat

  noun

  a former princely state in NW India: now a part of Pakistan.
• SWAT
  SWAT

  noun

  a special section of some law enforcement agencies trained and equipped to deal with especially dangerous or violent situations, as when hostages are being held (often used attributively).

swat

¹ American  

[swot] / swɒt /

Or swot

verb (used with object)

swatted, swatting

1. to hit; slap; smack.

2. Baseball. to hit (a ball) powerfully, usually for a long distance.

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noun

• swats
  plural

1. a smart blow; slap; smack.

2. Baseball. a powerfully hit ball.

swat ² American  

[swot] / swɒt /

verb

Dialect.

1. simple past tense and past participle of sweat.

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swat ³ American  

[swot] / swɒt /

verb (used without object)

swatted, swatting

1. swot.

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Swat ⁴ American  

[swaht] / swɑt /

noun

1. a former princely state in NW India: now a part of Pakistan.

2. Also a Muslim inhabitant of Swat.

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SWAT ⁵ American  

[swot] / swɒt /

Or S.W.A.T.

noun

1. a special section of some law enforcement agencies trained and equipped to deal with especially dangerous or violent situations, as when hostages are being held (often used attributively).

   a SWAT team.

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verb (used with or without object)

swatted, SWATted, swatting, SWATting

1. Usually swat to cause a SWAT team to be deployed on (an unsuspecting victim, especially a public figure or someone prominent on social media) by falsifying a threat, often as a punishment or retaliation.

   His plan was to swat other gamers during their streaming broadcasts so everyone would see it happen.

   The film’s director was swatted when the sequel disappointed fans.

swat ¹ British  

/ swɒt /

verb

1. to strike or hit sharply

   to swat a fly

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noun

1. another word (esp Brit) for swatter

2. a sharp or violent blow

Swat ² British  

/ swɒt /

noun

1. a former princely state of NW India: passed to Pakistan in 1947

2. a river in Pakistan, rising in the north and flowing south to the Kabul River north of Peshawar. Length: about 640 km (400 miles)

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SWAT ³ British  

/ swɒt /

acronym

1. Special Weapons and Tactics: a military-like unit within the US police force, trained to deal with specially dangerous situations, such as hostage-taking and riots

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swat ⁴ British  

/ swɒt /

verb

1. a variant of swot 1

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• swats
  plural

Etymology

Origin of swat¹

First recorded in 1615–25; originally variant of squat

Origin of SWAT⁵

First recorded in 1965–70; acronym from S(pecial) W(eapons) a(nd) T(actics)

Explanation

To swat is to hit or bat at something. You might try to swat a fly with a rolled-up magazine and then watch your cat swat at it with her paws. Someone who's attacked by a swarm of wasps will swat at them as they run away, and a kid who's annoyed at her sister might swat her, too. The smack itself is also called a swat. Experts suspect that swat is an alteration of the Middle English swap, "to strike," which mimics the sound of a sharp blow.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

swat Swat SWAT swats swatted swatting

At another, he stretched out his full 8-foot wingspan to swat away a put-back dunk attempt.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026

If they can swat aside the Pumas, while injuries stretch the squad into another new shape, the impression of impregnability will only grow.

From BBC ● Nov. 23, 2025

Even House Rep. Chip Roy, an otherwise-reliable conspiracist, took to social media to swat down this feel-good hoax.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2025

Even the British have been trying to swat back Americanisms.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 3, 2025

“Everything,” Rafe said, stealing some of Grace’s fries, pulling them away before she could swat at his hand.

From "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway

Abdul Salam, who lives in Punjab, told BBC Urdu of the moment he realised his wife, two daughters and son may have been caught in the Swat Valley floods.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2025

Some 50 charlifts dot the hillsides of nearby Swat Valley.

From Reuters ● Aug. 26, 2023

The Swat Valley was the stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, formally called the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, until 2019 when security forces cleared the region of militants after military operations.

From Seattle Times ● May 16, 2023

Swat had been a popular tourist destination before it fell into the hands of the Taliban in late 2007.

From New York Times ● Apr. 25, 2023

For the first quarter of the journey, the road was a series of zigs and zags that followed the Swat River on one side and hugged sheer cliffs on the other.

From "Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Changed the World" by Malala Yousafzai

"SWAT team, bomb squad, K9 team, gang unit, negotiators, drone team. Every single asset we have to bring this to the safest conclusion is out here right now," he continued.

From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026

And Los Angeles Police Department SWAT, bomb squad and snipers will be in the area, law enforcement sources told The Times.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2026

The sheriff's office added that the gunman's home in Anaconda had been searched, and "cleared by SWAT" teams.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2025

Ruben Lopez, who oversees SWAT, said the department learned from what happened in New York.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2023

Mr. McCraw excoriated Mr. Arredondo for letting injured children and teachers languish while waiting for SWAT, protective equipment and keys.

From New York Times ● Oct. 12, 2022

He either swats away shot attempts or, more often, makes would-be shooters run away in terror before they even look at the rim—a phenomenon known as the “Nope.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026

Jennie could be your cool older sister, all dark sunglasses and leather jackets, as she swats away her choreography like a pesky house fly.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2025

At Henry’s school, a teacher swats down the boy’s interest in science in favor of ranting about his dismal salary.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 2, 2025

He swats the ball back on a short hop before it kicks above his head.

From New York Times ● May 1, 2022

We use the whole rest of the jar of Vaseline, but when we pull again, Edna swats at us with her free hand.

From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina

"We have given France so much praise in this tournament, but they were swatted aside by silky Spain. In the main, Spain have outfought and outplayed this French team."

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

If getting your shot swatted by Wembanyama is humiliating, though, avoiding that shot altogether can be far worse.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026

But on Sunday, anyone with an ego got swatted on the nose.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 16, 2026

Green’s sign was swatted away by Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La.

From Salon ● Feb. 24, 2026

Håkon swatted Misha’s hand away and said, “I’m going to be sick everywhere,” and slammed the door in Misha’s face.

From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack

With residents already scratching and swatting, it took only a couple of charismatic entomologists to win over the right politicians to move legislation forward.

From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026

As in both earlier games in this series, the Thunder treated a Lakers lead like a pesky gnat, swatting it away with a casual flick as if it never existed.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 10, 2026

That’s because his secret superpower isn’t swatting away shots.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026

Wolves have been observed swatting the birds away, even appearing to designate a pack member to stand guard.

From Barron's ● Mar. 12, 2026

Her and Charlie are wearing matching dresses that look like the flag, and they’re both swatting at mosquitoes.

From "Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero" by Kelly J. Baptist

Related Words

• clobber
• knock
• slap
• slug
• smack
• smash
• whack