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definitions
  • synonyms

swat1

or swot

[swot]
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verb (used with object), swat·ted, swat·ting.
  1. to hit; slap; smack.
  2. Baseball. to hit (a ball) powerfully, usually for a long distance.
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noun
  1. a smart blow; slap; smack.
  2. Baseball. a powerfully hit ball.
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Origin of swat1

First recorded in 1790–1800; orig. variant of squat

swat2

[swot]
verb Dialect.
  1. simple past tense and past participle of sweat.
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swat3

[swot]British Slang.
verb (used without object), swat·ted, swat·ting, noun
  1. swot2.
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Swat

[swaht]
noun
  1. a former princely state in NW India: now a part of Pakistan.
  2. Also Swati. a Muslim inhabitant of Swat.
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SWAT

or S.W.A.T.

[swot]
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), swat·ted, swat·ting.
  1. Usually swat. (especially among online video gamers) to cause a SWAT team to be deployed on (an unsuspecting victim) by falsifying a threat, often as a punishment or retaliation: The prankster planned to swat other gamers during their streaming broadcasts so everyone would see it happen. Several members of the development team were swatted when the game expansion disappointed fans.
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Origin of SWAT

S(pecial) W(eapons) a(nd) T(actics)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

knocksmashslapwhacksmackclobberslugboxdingbiffbeatsockcloutcuffbuffetwallopstrikebelt

Examples from the Web for swat

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • He professed to be a successor of the great Akhund of Swat, and to have inherited his powers.

  • It's like trying to swat a fly to come down on you at the right minute.

  • I have told you that an elephant can "swat" the flies with a bough which he holds in his trunk.

    The Wonders of the Jungle

    Prince Sarath Ghosh

  • At school, he is a "smug" or a "swat," while the Red-blood is captain of the Eleven.

    Appearances

    Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson

  • Let Swat bury the great AhkoondWith a noise of mourning and of lamentation!

British Dictionary definitions for swat

swat1

verb swats, swatting or swatted (tr)
  1. to strike or hit sharplyto swat a fly
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noun
  1. another word (esp Brit) for swatter (def. 1)
  2. a sharp or violent blow
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Also called: swot

Word Origin

C17: northern English dialect and US variant of squat

swat2

verb, noun swats, swatting or swatted
  1. a variant of swot 1
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Swat

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

n acronym for
  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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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for swat

v.

1796, American English and northern England dialect word, possibly an alteration of Middle English swap "to strike, smite" (see swap), ultimately of imitative origin. Related: Swatted; swatting. The noun is recorded from 1800.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper