swinge
1 Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of swinge1
1250–1300; Middle English swengen to shake, smite, Old English swengan, causative of swingan to swing, or denominative derivative of Old English sweng a blow
Origin of swinge2
First recorded in 1580–90; obscurely akin to singe
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Possum skin is jes lak shoat skin; Jes' you swinge an' scrope it down, Tek a good sha'p knife an' sco' it, Den you bake it good an' brown.
From The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar by William Dean Howells
That is the neetive misure of the Oirish bards, an' is iminiutly adapted to rendher the Homeric swinge.
From The Lady of the Ice A Novel by James De Mille
Well, sir, y'ave a perilous wit, God blesse me out of the swinge of it, but you had best looke to it betimes, for Earl Cassimere hath made great friends against you.
From A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 3 by A. H. (Arthur Henry) Bullen
The young dogs, swinge them to the labour; Let wark an’ hunger mak’ them sober!
From The Complete Works of Robert Burns: Containing his Poems, Songs, and Correspondence. With a New Life of the Poet, and Notices, Critical and Biographical by Allan Cunningham by Robert Burns
Alas, I know not whom to suspect, I wou'd I did; but if you cou'd discover him—I wou'd so swinge him— Sir Feeb.
From The Works of Aphra Behn, Volume III by Montague Summers
Fafà Picault swinged in a cross from wide left, Whitecaps goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau was unable to corral it after a deflection off defender Bruno Gaspar and Rodríguez smashed home the putback.
From Seattle Times ● May 22, 2021
If it had not been i’ the church, I would have swinged him, or he should have swinged me.
From The Merry Wives of Windsor The Works of William Shakespeare [Cambridge Edition] [9 vols.] by John Glover
And they it was who caught the great Devil of Dax and tied him up and swinged him with an ash-plant till he swore that he would haunt the woods no more.
From Hills and the Sea by Hilaire Belloc
Saint George, that swinged the dragon, and e'er since Sits on his horse back at mine hostess' door.
From Familiar Quotations A Collection of Passages, Phrases, and Proverbs Traced to Their Sources in Ancient and Modern Literature by John Bartlett
True, sir; I was in love with my bed: I thank you, you swinged me for my love, which makes me the bolder to chide you for yours.
From Two Gentlemen of Verona The Works of William Shakespeare [Cambridge Edition] [9 vols.] by William George Clark
At the same time, he has been criticised for swingeing job cuts as he tries to restore order to the club's finances.
From Barron's ● Jan. 5, 2026
The most swingeing, the Caesar Act, has been suspended and could be repealed by the US Congress in the new year.
From BBC ● Dec. 8, 2025
The public market imposes a fairly swingeing discount on inorganic growth.
From The Verge ● Mar. 8, 2022
Nellie Buthelezi’s husband was among those laid off by the local government in swingeing job cuts earlier this year, while the lodge where she works has been shut since March.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 3, 2021
We shall feast like kings anon; here is to be swingeing doings; we have a wedding in the house; here, drink and cheer up; pull away.
From Gargantua and Pantagruel, Illustrated, Book 4 by Peter Anthony Motteux
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
