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definitions

swath

[ swoth, swawth ]
/ swɒθ, swɔθ /
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR swath ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the space covered by the stroke of a scythe or the cut of a mowing machine.
the piece or strip so cut.
a line or ridge of grass, grain, or the like, cut and thrown together by a scythe or mowing machine.
a strip, belt, or long and relatively narrow extent of anything.

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RELATED WORDS

fodder, grass, feed, chaff, forage, provender, herbage

Nearby words

  1. swashing,
  2. swashingly,
  3. swastika,
  4. swat,
  5. swatch,
  6. swathe,
  7. swati,
  8. swatow,
  9. swats,
  10. swatter

Idioms

    cut a swath, to make a pretentious display; attract notice: The new doctor cut a swath in the small community.
Also swathe.

Origin of swath

before 900; Middle English; Old English swæth footprint; cognate with German Shwade
Can be confusedswath swathe
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for swath

British Dictionary definitions for swath

swath

swathe (sweɪð)

/ (swɔːθ) /

noun plural swaths (swɔːðz) or swathes

the width of one sweep of a scythe or of the blade of a mowing machine
the strip cut by either of these in one course
the quantity of cut grass, hay, or similar crop left in one course of such mowing
a long narrow strip or belt

Word Origin for swath

Old English swæth; related to Old Norse svath smooth patch
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 swath

swath

n.

Old English swæð, swaðu "track, trace, band," from Proto-Germanic *swathan, *swatho (cf. Old Frisian swethe "boundary made by a scythe," Middle Dutch swade, German Schwad "a row of cut grass"); ulterior connections uncertain. Meaning "space covered by the single cut of a scythe" emerged late 15c., and that of "strip, lengthwise extent" is from c.1600.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with swath

swath

see cut a wide swath.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.