swish
Americanverb (used without object)
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swishes,
present (3rd person singular)
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swished,
past participle, past
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swishing
present participle
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to move with or make a sibilant sound, as a slender rod cutting sharply through the air or as small waves washing on the shore.
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to rustle, as silk.
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to move or behave in an exaggeratedly effeminate manner.
verb (used with object)
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swishes,
present (3rd person singular)
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swished,
past participle, past
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swishing
present participle
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to flourish, whisk, etc., with a swishing movement or sound.
to swish a cane.
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to bring, take, cut, etc., with such a movement or sound.
to swish off the tops of plants with a cane.
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to flog or whip.
noun
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swishes
plural
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a swishing movement or sound.
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a stock or rod for flogging or a stroke with this.
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Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to an effeminate gay man.
adjective
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Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. swishy.
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Chiefly British Informal. stylishly elegant; fashionable.
verb
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to move with or make or cause to move with or make a whistling or hissing sound
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(intr) (esp of fabrics) to rustle
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slang (tr) to whip; flog
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to cut with a swishing blow
noun
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a hissing or rustling sound or movement
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a rod for flogging or a blow from such a rod
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slang an effeminate male homosexual
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a W African building material composed of mortar and mud or laterite, or more recently of cement and earth
adjective
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informal fashionable; smart
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slang effeminate and homosexual
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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swishsimple
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swishessimple
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have swishedperfect
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has swishedperfect
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am swishingprogressive
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are swishingprogressive
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is swishingprogressive
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have been swishingperfect progressive
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has been swishingperfect progressive
Past
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swishedsimple
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had swishedperfect
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was swishingprogressive
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were swishingprogressive
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had been swishingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of swish
First recorded in 1750–60; imitative
Explanation
To swish is to make something rush or hiss as it moves, or to move this way yourself. A bike might swish past you on a wet sidewalk, and you might swish your long dress as you continue walking. A swish is the sound that's made when a person or thing swishes — the swish of a dish brush on a dirty pan in the sink, or the swish of water against a dock. A kite swishes through the air and so does a fencing epee or a fly swatter. In basketball, you swish when you make a clean basket, without the ball hitting the rim or the backboard. Swish is an example of onomatopoeia — when a word that sounds like its meaning.
Vocabulary lists containing swish
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:
You will often see Wembanyama close his eyes before free throws, visualizing the swish.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026
The company provided cash to landlords and wealthy families to buy properties in swish London neighborhoods and throughout the U.K.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026
The swish of polyester skirts in spring pastels — lavender, mint, butter-yellow — as the women of the church organized the spread.
From Salon ● Mar. 15, 2026
A long-awaited swish finally quieted a restless Phoenix crowd.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 14, 2025
She let it go, and in one swish Kapu leaped to the ground and snatched it.
From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George
He generates his power as the bat swishes back through the line to make contact.
From BBC ● May 7, 2026
Daunno does an expert disaffected indie head nod and foot bounce while he plays, and Shen is thoroughly convincing on the keys with her hair swishes and tentative backing vocals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 28, 2023
At one point an enormous koi swishes across the rear wall.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 21, 2022
The nets singed with swishes, same as they ever had.
From New York Times ● Apr. 18, 2022
The guitarist has long hair pulled into a thick braid that swishes a beat after he strums the guitar.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
He soared for dunks and even swished a 3-pointer from the half-court line.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026
Wembanyama swished jump shots and soared for alley-oop dunks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
Javon Carter had tied it for the Magic with 1.1 seconds left in the second extra period before Green swished the game-winner.
From Barron's ● Feb. 22, 2026
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Dylan Andrews exhaled, took two dribbles, spun the ball and swished the free throw.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2025
“He just swished a cloth off the top of it and said, ‘Well, it isn’t ours yet, but it will be in a couple of weeks.’
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
In the summer of 1979 he moved into a house in the Hollywood Hills, and soon adorned its pool with swishing strokes of blue paint.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026
"The last thing I remember of Brenda was her ponytail swishing as she walked out of the door," she wrote.
From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2025
Between the pomp surrounding donning one’s holy livery, pointed glares and swishing red silks and velvets, these cassocked clergymen make bored teenagers seem kind.
From Salon ● Nov. 22, 2024
Cats display a wide range of visual signals: tails swishing side to side, or raised high in the air; rubbing and curling around our legs; crouching; flattening ears or widening eyes.
From New York Times ● Feb. 29, 2024
Zees is my favorite way to hunt for zee treasure,” laughed LeVisqueux, swishing his saber in the air.
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
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.
