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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

He whiffed and, as his belly careened iceward, made a desperate swat at the puck that lifted it over the glove of the Vegas goalie to give the Hurricanes a lead they’d never relinquish.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 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

But James, like he has so many times, caught up to the play from behind, a game-saving swat of the ball tipping the edge just so slightly back to the Lakers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 6, 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

Abdul Salam, who lives in Punjab, told BBC Urdu of the moment he realised his wife, two daughters and son may have been caught in the Swat Valley floods.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2025

Some 50 charlifts dot the hillsides of nearby Swat Valley.

From Reuters ● Aug. 26, 2023

The attack took place near a fruit market in the town of Mingora, located in the district of Swat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to senior local police officer Shafiullah Khan.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 8, 2023

The Health Department of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa declared a health emergency in Swat and placed all hospitals on red alert.

From New York Times ● Apr. 25, 2023

While my father and I were busy crisscrossing Swat, speaking out on behalf of the girls of our valley, my mother had started working with one of the teachers at the Khushal primary school.

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

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

According to pretrial court filings, Grasso alleges one of her bosses at SWAT, 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

Lopez is a member of the department’s elite Special Enforcement Bureau, which includes SWAT, sources told The Times.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2022

He either swats away shot attempts or, more often, makes would-be shooters run away in terror before they even look at the rim—a phenomenon known as the “Nope.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026

Didier Drogba swats a swerving hack of a volley past Tim Howard.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2024

In another video, of a man who takes his wife to lunch, there is a short clip of his wife trying to steal a French fry, before he quickly swats her hand away.

From New York Times ● Apr. 24, 2023

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

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 7, 2023

They told him to use his judgment on strategy, but to give Seabiscuit two swats with his whip, once at the top of the stretch and once seventy yards from the wire.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

"We have given France so much praise in this tournament, but they were swatted aside by silky Spain. In the main, Spain have outfought and outplayed this French team."

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

French-American land forces converged on an entrenched British army in southeastern Virginia, as a French fleet swatted away a royal navy relief squadron and sealed off the Chesapeake Bay escape route.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

He was perfect into the fourth quarter until he got swatted on a layup attempt by Norman Powell.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2026

Green’s sign was swatted away by Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La.

From Salon ● Feb. 24, 2026

Occasionally a treestump got swatted by a girl’s book bag, but for the most part the girls also found it to be fun, and before long they were treestumping the boys.

From "Wringer" by Jerry Spinelli

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

A spokesperson for Tarian, the regional organised crime unit for south Wales, said swatting could be "extremely serious".

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 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

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

The second was occupied by Gregory Pitts and his friends swatting their arms through a cloud of body spray that smelled like cinnamon if cinnamon smelled like garlic.

From "Look Both Ways" by Jason Reynolds

Related Words

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