swoop

American  

[swoop] / swup /

verb (used without object)

• swoops,
  present (3rd person singular)
• swooped,
  past participle,  past
• swooping
  present participle

1. to sweep through the air, as a bird or a bat, especially down upon prey.

2. to come down upon something in a sudden, swift attack (often followed by down and on orupon ).

   The army swooped down on the town.

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verb (used with object)

• swoops,
  present (3rd person singular)
• swooped,
  past participle,  past
• swooping
  present participle

1. to take, lift, scoop up, or remove with or as with one sweeping motion (often followed by up, away, oroff ).

   He swooped her up in his arms.

noun

• swoops
  plural

1. an act or instance of swooping; a sudden, swift descent.

   Synonyms:

   drop, sweep, plunge, dive

idioms

1. at / in one fell swoop, all at once or all together, as if by one blow.

   The quake flattened the houses at one fell swoop.

swoop British  

/ swuːp /

verb

1. (intr; usually foll by down, on, or upon) to sweep or pounce suddenly

2. (tr; often foll by up, away, or off) to seize or scoop suddenly

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noun

1. the act of swooping

2. a swift descent

swoop More Idioms  

1. see one fell swoop.

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• swoops
  plural

Participles

• swooping
  present
• swooped
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• swoop
  simple
• swoops
  simple
• have swooped
  perfect
• has swooped
  perfect
• am swooping
  progressive
• are swooping
  progressive
• is swooping
  progressive
• have been swooping
  perfect progressive
• has been swooping
  perfect progressive

Past

• swooped
  simple
• had swooped
  perfect
• was swooping
  progressive
• were swooping
  progressive
• had been swooping
  perfect progressive

Future

• will swoop
  simple
• will have swooped
  perfect
• will be swooping
  progressive
• will have been swooping
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of swoop

1535–45; variant (with close ō ) of Middle English swopen, Old English swāpan to sweep ¹; cognate with German schweifen

Explanation

To swoop is to move downward quickly and dramatically, like an eagle that swoops down to catch its prey. A swoop is an impressive movement best demonstrated by a bird. If a bird is high in the air, then moves down quickly, making an arc or loop, that's an example of a swoop. People can also swoop — three muggers might swoop in on a victim, for example. The phrase "one fell swoop" means "all at once," and Shakespeare used it first, in "Macbeth:" "What, All my pretty Chickens, and their Dam, At one fell swoop?"

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

swoop swoops swooped swooping

Having a bird swoop down to snatch food from your hand is one of the most intimate interactions we can have with wildlife.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026

EasyJet will be taken over in a "foreign swoop" for £5.7bn, reports the Financial Times.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

Situational spoke to its banks and other hedge funds about selling a cross-section of its portfolio in one fell swoop.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

Sixty-one years later, on April 29, 2026, Anthony Liuzzo and Americans across the country witnessed six individuals, in one fell swoop, issue a binding opinion in Louisiana v.

From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026

They timed it as best they could to swoop down between bursts.

From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone

After the parade, the New York City Department of Sanitation swoops into action to sweep up the thousands of pounds of paper.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026

It swoops down playfully in “A Black Song,” over a swung rumble of drumbeats.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 4, 2026

Frost it however you like, even if that means uneven swoops and visible crumbs.

From Salon ● Feb. 3, 2026

Portimao is a 2.89-mile track that swoops over hilly terrain and is highly regarded for its driving challenge.

From BBC ● Dec. 16, 2025

Andy Beast swoops over their heads, folds his wings, and sets himself between the girls as they start up the stairs.

From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson

That album, simply titled Muna, was eventually released by indie star Phoebe Bridgers, who swooped in to sign the band to her Saddest Factory label in 2021.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

Before Apollo swooped in, EasyJet looked set to be taken private by Castlelake, which manages around $38 billion in assets, after the carrier accepted its beefed-up fifth bid on Sunday.

From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026

Entire cities have looked on with awe as foreign fans have swooped in and slurped up the supply.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026

In late 2024, the so-called “BATMANN” stocks swooped to the market’s rescue.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 16, 2026

Someone even suggests that Sandy was abducted by aliens that swooped down and stole him away into the stars.

From "King and the Dragonflies" by Kacen Callender

Four-year-old Juni Wahab was entranced by the sight of the swallows and cormorants swooping low overhead and the rushing twists of water.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

Frasers has built a reputation for swooping in to buy retail brands which have fallen into administration, but its gradual increase in ownership of profit-making Hugo Boss over several years is a different approach.

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026

Budget carriers like Breeze, Allegiant and Frontier are swooping in on Spirit’s former routes as well as circling its valuable takeoff and landing slots at bigger airports.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026

So yeah, bald eagles are like pirates, swooping in and taking what they want, when they want it.

From Slate ● Feb. 21, 2026

The idea of invisible creatures swooping through the towns and countryside, spreading despair and hopelessness in his voters, made him feel quite faint.

From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling

Related Words

• dive
• plummet
• pounce