swat

¹

Or swot

[swot]

verb (used with object)

swatted, swatting 

1. to hit; slap; smack.

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

noun

1. a smart blow; slap; smack.

2. Baseball.,  a powerfully hit ball.

swat

²

[swot]

verb

Dialect.

1. simple past tense and past participle of sweat.

swat

³

[swot]

verb (used without object)

swatted, swatting 

1. swot.

Swat

⁴

[swaht]

noun

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

2. Also a Muslim inhabitant of Swat.

SWAT

⁵

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.

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

/ swɒt /

verb

1. to strike or hit sharply

   to swat a fly

noun

1. another word (esp Brit) for swatter

2. a sharp or violent blow

Swat

²

/ 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)

SWAT

³

/ 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

swat

⁴

/ swɒt /

verb

1. a variant of swot 1

Word History and Origins

Origin of swat¹

First recorded in 1615–25; originally variant of squat

Origin of swat²

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of swat¹

C17: northern English dialect and US variant of _squat

Example Sentences

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

Read more on BBC

I see monkeys swatting at the sails, cats lounging on the bow, and a four-armed gorilla sweeping the deck.

Read more on Literature

But this time she could not simply swat the truth away.

Read more on Literature

Bilodeau was especially active in the early going, swatting a shot, scoring on a backdoor layup and drawing a foul on a hanging jumper as the Bruins surged into a 15-5 lead.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Sunday's impressive performance to swat aside a club he said had pushed him to show the best version of himself answered any doubts.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

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