swinging

American  

[swing-ing] / ˈswɪŋ ɪŋ /

adjective

superlative

swingingest

1. characterized by or capable of swinging, being swung, or causing to swing.

2. intended for swinging upon, by, from, or in.

   the swinging devices in a playground.

3. Slang. excellent; first-rate.

4. Slang. lively, active, and modern; hip.

5. Slang.

   1. free and uninhibited sexually.

      a swinging bachelor.

   2. exchanging spouses for sex.

      swinging married couples.

---

noun

1. the activity or act of a person who swings.

2. Slang.

   1. the act or practice of being free and uninhibited sexually.

   2. the exchanging of spouses for sex.

swinging British  

/ ˈswɪŋɪŋ /

adjective

1. moving rhythmically to and fro

2. slang modern and lively

---

noun

1. slang the practice of swapping sexual partners in a group, esp habitually

Other Word Forms

• swingingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of swinging

First recorded in 1550–60; swing ¹ + -ing ²

Example Sentences

When one ball is released, its momentum passes straight through the row and sends the ball at the far end swinging outward, while the others barely move.

From Science Daily

Also, choppy markets that are swinging wildly may bring the illusion of sector rotations, but those often don’t result in meaningful trends.

From The Wall Street Journal

For a tired bicep curl: “Avoid swinging your body for momentum.”

From The Wall Street Journal

But whenever she spotted another tote in the wild—on the Tube, outside a pub, swinging from someone’s shoulder on a crowded street—she felt a spark of recognition.

From The Wall Street Journal

He writes, for example, that the guitarist James Blood Ulmer plays “shrill, disjointed fragments, nervous bits and rickety pieces tied together by a staggered but wryly swinging thematic sensibility.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• fluctuating