swipe

American  

[swahyp] / swaɪp /

noun

1. a swing of the arm, paw, etc., in order to strike someone or something.

   He made a swipe at me, but I ducked!

   A swipe from the cat could mean an injured eye for your new pup.

2. a critical or cutting remark.

   Her speech contained a few nasty swipes at the other leading candidate.

3. a swift pass of something over a surface or through a slot.

   You can debit your checking account with just a swipe of your card.

   It’ll take more than a few swipes with a sponge to clean this sink.

4. a strong, sweeping blow or stroke.

   It only took two swipes with the ax to bring the sapling down.

5. a sideswipe.

6. a leverlike device for raising or lowering a weight, especially a bucket in a well; sweep.

7. Also called rubber.  Horse Racing. a person who rubs down horses in a stable; groom.

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verb (used with object)

swiped, swiping

1. Informal. to steal.

   He'll swipe anything that isn't nailed down.

2. to slide (a magnetic card) quickly through an electronic device that reads data.

   Just swipe your credit card if tapping doesn’t work.

3. Digital Technology. to move a finger or fingers across an area on (a touchscreen) in order to execute a command.

   Swipe the screen upward to unlock your phone.

4. to hit, brush, or wipe with a swift, sweeping stroke.

   I swiped my face with my sleeve.

verb (used without object)

swiped, swiping

1. to make a swift, sweeping stroke.

   The waiter swiped at our table with a damp cloth.

   The giant swiped at the mouse with his boulder-sized fists.

2. to slide a magnetic card through an electronic device.

3. Digital Technology. to move the fingers across a touchscreen.

   Swipe down from the top to find your Favorites.

idioms

1. swipe left,

   1. Digital Technology. to move the fingers to the left on a touchscreen: originally, on some sites, a way to close or dismiss something.

      Users of the dating app can swipe left to indicate they are not interested in the photos and move on to the next person.

      Tap on the icon and swipe left to begin recording.

   2. to reject something or someone (often used withon ).

      You’ll find nicer apartments than this—swipe left!

      Even with a six-figure salary, I think I’d swipe left on that job.

2. swipe right,

   1. Digital Technology. to move the fingers to the right on a touchscreen: originally, on some sites, a way to open, approve, or opt for something.

      Swipe right on the profile to send the person a message.

      Swipe right to continue.

   2. to choose in favor of something or someone; approve (often used withon ).

      An iced cappuccino on a hot day like today—I’ll swipe right on that!

swipe British  

/ swaɪp /

verb

1. informal to hit hard with a sweeping blow

2. slang (tr) to steal

3. (tr) to pass a machine-readable card, such as a credit card, debit card, etc, through a machine that electronically interprets the information encoded, usu. in a magnetic strip, on the card

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noun

1. informal a hard blow

2. an unexpected criticism of someone or something while discussing another subject

3. Also called: sweep.  a type of lever for raising and lowering a weight, such as a bucket in a well

Etymology

Origin of swipe

First recorded in 1730–40; cognate with German schweifen; sweep ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

On Wednesday, he took a swipe at one of the biggest sources of the returns in the market: dividends.

From Barron's

Carse swiped 16 to finally extinguish any suggestion of an early finish, dragging this series into one more day.

From BBC

Head swiped at Carse, Jacks was conscious of stepping on the rope and took his eye off a simple chance.

From BBC

Stomach gnawing and hands slightly shaky, I loaded up on ephemera for fancy paninis, held together with swipes of giardiniera mayo, and splurged on some pastel-hued botanical sodas for drinking straight from the can.

From Salon

Two said that at one point he had his own swipe card, so he could come and go freely.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• pilfer
• sneak