swats

[swats]

noun (used with a plural verb) Scot.

sweet, new beer or ale.

Origin of swats

1500–10; compare Old English swatan beer (plural)

swat

or swot

[swot]

verb (used with object), swat·ted, swat·ting.

to hit; slap; smack.

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

noun

a smart blow; slap; smack.

Baseball. a powerfully hit ball.

Origin of swat

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

swat

[swot]

verb Dialect.

simple past tense and past participle of sweat.

swat

[swot]British Slang.

verb (used without object), swat·ted, swat·ting, noun

swot².

Swat

[swaht]

noun

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

Also Swati. a Muslim inhabitant of Swat.

SWAT

or S.W.A.T.

[swot]

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): a SWAT team.

verb (used with or without object), swat·ted, swat·ting.

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.

Origin of SWAT

S(pecial) W(eapons) a(nd) T(actics)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for swats

knock, smash, slap, whack, smack, clobber, slug, box, ding, biff, beat, sock, clout, cuff, buffet, wallop, strike, belt

Examples from the Web for swats

Contemporary Examples of swats

The school staff would not allow us to film things like swats or students being sent to the “quiet room.”
‘Kidnapped for Christ’ Review: Come Because You’re Gay, Stay For Jesus
Matthew Paul Turner
July 11, 2014
There were three more Iraqi SWATs in the bedroom by now, and Matt told them to hold the prisoner still.
The Night the SEALS Captured the Butcher of Fallujah
Patrick Robinson
November 11, 2013
Sarah Kliff swats away David Brooks' suggestion that "Nobody knows how to reduce health care inflation."
Price Controls: Effective Political Poison
Justin Green
October 2, 2012

Historical Examples of swats

The Swats, as the people of this region are called, appeared to be perfectly contented under British rule.
The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 41, August 19, 1897
Various
When the relief party reached Chakdara, they had a severe fight with the Swats, but they at length routed the tribesmen.
The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 41, August 19, 1897
Various
At length, however, came in the same sneering fellow I had marked on the wharf, calling loudly for swats.
Richard Carvel, Complete
Winston Churchill
Course they swats a dignified old boy three seats beyond me back of the ear; but that starts the floral offerings.
Torchy, Private Sec.
Sewell Ford
The player with the swatter follows the runner and swats him until he is back in position.
Games and Play for School Morale
Various

British Dictionary definitions for swats

Swat

noun

a former princely state of NW India: passed to Pakistan in 1947

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

n acronym for

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

verb swats, swatting or swatted (tr)

to strike or hit sharplyto swat a fly

noun

another word (esp Brit) for swatter (def. 1)

a sharp or violent blow

Also called: swot

Word Origin for swat

C17: northern English dialect and US variant of squat

swat

verb, noun swats, swatting or swatted

a variant of swot 1

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 swats

swat

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.