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

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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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)

Example Sentences

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

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

During this time, littermates test their boundaries during play, and if they swat or bite too hard, their mothers can put them in check.

From Salon • Dec. 6, 2024

People are most commonly stung when they swat at them.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 1, 2024

I thought he might give me a good swat when he saw I was a true mouse.

From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck

Related Words

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