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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

She ignored Polybotes, who was now stampeding around her, trying to swat Jason out of his whirlwind.

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan

But some Democrats were also targeted, such as Boston Mayor Michelle Wu who also had a Swat team called to her home on Christmas.

From BBC ● Dec. 28, 2023

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

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

All the people of Swat were caught in the middle.

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

He said it seemed like most of the defense witnesses “weren’t giving out a lot of information,” while Colomey had offered a compelling narrative about his efforts to fix the problems he saw at SWAT.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 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

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

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2024

Back at his desk, he rudely swats away the callers he deems less than emergent, curtly processing the rest.

From New York Times ● Sep. 30, 2021

It’s the timing and the look of helplessness on an opponent’s face when Brittney Sykes flies in undetected and swats the ball away with a long, thin arm.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2021

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

The first free-hit was heaved over cow corner for six, the second free-hit was swatted over long-on to bring up a 39-ball half-century and another maximum was slotted over the leg-side fence.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 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

Baker-Mazara closed the gap and swatted the ball.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 2, 2026

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

From Salon ● Feb. 24, 2026

Bristle jumped between them and swatted the toy away.

From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker

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

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

Wolves have been observed swatting the birds away, even appearing to designate a pack member to stand guard.

From Barron's ● Mar. 12, 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

Tired of spending frigid winters shoveling snow, or of sweating bullets and swatting mosquitoes in the summer?

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 29, 2025

“Did you know about this?” she says, swatting Coop’s chest with the back of her hand.

From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone

Related Words

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