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

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

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

In one fell swoop, The Beatles penetrated two more demographics.

From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026

It dumped stocks to raise cash before seeking out a buyer who could take down the bulk of its portfolio in one fell swoop.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 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

Sure, it would be nice for someone to swoop in and make everything all good.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

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

Then in the spirit of springtime renewal, thought-provoking plays like “John Proctor Is the Villain” and “Fences” will leave audiences in contemplation before festive summer item “Boop! The Musical” swoops in to lift spirits.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 29, 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

Murmurations of birds swirl above rugged plains, landscapes shift into geometric compositions, and uncanny juxtapositions—a shirt dangling from a tree as a lone bird swoops by—lend seemingly simple pictures eerie characteristics.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025

I make swoops and swirls and thick lines.

From "The One and Only Ivan" by Katherine Applegate

In early July, EasyJet and Castlelake said they had agreed a deal in principle, but then Apollo - which owns Wagamama parent The Restaurant Group - swooped in with a higher bid.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

The case captivated the country as the FBI swooped on the region to search for the missing woman.

From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026

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

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 16, 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

While Ellidyr followed, the gwythaints swooped downward, the wind rattling in their flashing feathers.

From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander

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

As the office market bottoms out after a long fall, renters are swooping in to buy their own buildings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2026

In the mornings, Christine eagerly awaits the brightly colored, highly vocal birds swooping into their garden, whooping their greetings before flying off into the junglelike foliage.

From Slate ● Mar. 30, 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

But now the dark swooping shadows were aware of the newcomer.

From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien

Related Words

• dive
• plummet
• pounce