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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

Today’s Dodgers have plenty of swat in their lineup, ranking behind only the Yankees in home runs so far as they chase a third straight World Series ring.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026

Meanwhile, Crosby’s camp sought to swat down any notion that his knee was actually a problem.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 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

I swat at the biggest mosquito I’ve ever seen.

From "Dragons in a Bag" by Zetta Elliott

Jason Skog recalled seeing a large police and Swat presence in his neighbourhood.

From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2024

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

A group of activists in Swat also rejected the police’s claims, calling the explosion an act of terrorism and declaring that they would organize a protest in the valley on Tuesday.

From New York Times ● Apr. 25, 2023

In the cafes, we saw men and women chatting and mixing in a way that would be unimaginable in Swat.

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

With a sterling record of busting down doors and arresting armed suspects over her decade in SWAT, Los Angeles police Lt.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2024

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

San Antonio superstar Victor Wembanyama swats away more shots than anyone in the league.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026

What’s next, a robotic baseball player named Babe that swats 500-foot home runs and throws 120 mph pitches, eclipsing Shohei Ohtani’s real-life achievements and commanding a billion dollar contract?

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 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

Boone’s six swats matched a career high and forward Tyreek Smith matched his career best with three.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 7, 2023

Tail wagging so hard it swats the dust up off the floor.

From "The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle" by Leslie Connor

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

In the quarter-finals, Georgia Stanway's rocket completed a remarkable comeback over pre-tournament favourites Spain, before Sweden were swatted aside in the semi-final, Alessia Russo's backheel the pick of four unanswered England goals.

From BBC ● Apr. 18, 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

The whole greenhouse came to life as vines tangled poxies, gigantic Venus flytraps gulped down demons, and trees swatted the waves of flies filling the air.

From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda

There are also flies — big blue and green flies with large, bright red heads — that residents are constantly swatting at outside their doors and windows.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

Six-time Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz was put through his paces by German journeyman Yannick Hanfmann on Wednesday before swatting him aside to book his place in the Australian Open third round.

From Barron's ● Jan. 21, 2026

They followed that up by swatting aside Partick Thistle 4-0 in the quarter-final at Firhill.

From BBC ● Dec. 14, 2025

Aficionados of Chicago-style hot dogs have a strong aversion to using ketchup, so they filmed a bit showing the co-worker swatting a bottle of ketchup out of Hawkins’s hand and creating a mess.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 2, 2025

“Maybe I could have a special huge flyswatter made for me for swatting all the crazy girls away.”

From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner

Related Words

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