swoop
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to sweep through the air, as a bird or a bat, especially down upon prey.
-
to come down upon something in a sudden, swift attack (often followed by down and on orupon ).
The army swooped down on the town.
verb (used with object)
noun
idioms
verb
-
(intr; usually foll by down, on, or upon) to sweep or pounce suddenly
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(tr; often foll by up, away, or off) to seize or scoop suddenly
noun
-
the act of swooping
-
a swift descent
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
swoopsimple
-
swoopssimple
-
have swoopedperfect
-
has swoopedperfect
-
am swoopingprogressive
-
are swoopingprogressive
-
is swoopingprogressive
-
have been swoopingperfect progressive
-
has been swoopingperfect progressive
Past
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swoopedsimple
-
had swoopedperfect
-
was swoopingprogressive
-
were swoopingprogressive
-
had been swoopingperfect progressive
Future
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?"
Vocabulary lists containing swoop
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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:
“In one fell swoop, thousands of Haitians and Syrians now risk losing the right to live and work in the country they call home.”
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026
At a Sacramento stop Friday, he bounded around chatting with about four dozen mostly union supporters, wearing trademark Nikes, this time a vintage pair with a tartan plaid swoop.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2026
Last week police detained 16 people after a swoop at three schools in the 7th arrondissement or district.
From BBC ● May 25, 2026
As demand waned in the following years, companies conducted mass layoffs, leading private-equity firms to swoop in to pick over the remains of distressed assets.
From MarketWatch ● May 23, 2026
As evening drew in, and moths began to swoop under the canopy, now lit with floating golden lanterns, the revelry became more and more uncontained.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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
Mudrick says companies, on his advice, have put paperwork in place to quickly issue stock if the meme crowd swoops in.
From Barron's ● Jan. 23, 2026
Her mind drifted among impressions the way a bat drifts and swoops in the evening.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
In late 2024, the so-called “BATMANN” stocks swooped to the market’s rescue.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 16, 2026
The first time I interviewed him in 2001, an aide swooped in just before the cameras went live and snatched away the small water glasses on the table in front of us.
From BBC ● May 30, 2026
After the restaurant was shuttered in 1984, Inouye swooped in to rescue Chicken Boy and place him in protective storage — for years, as it turned out.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
Then Altman swooped in to cut his own deal with the Pentagon about the same time he went public in apparent support of Anthropic’s position.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 7, 2026
Pelicarnassus shouted, and the two great metal wings of the giant robot pelican suit swooped around and shot missiles at them.
From "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness
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
So yeah, bald eagles are like pirates, swooping in and taking what they want, when they want it.
From Slate ● Feb. 21, 2026
Only in the past couple of years, Sansom explained, did watchful staff members start swooping in to “borrow” Bamberger’s chain saw whenever they caught him tramping around the property with one.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 4, 2026
Despite the fear in the community, Urbach said the thought of private equity or corporations swooping in is not realistic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2026
Harry felt a sick, swooping in his belly.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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.
