swot
1 Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
-
a student who studies assiduously, especially to the exclusion of other activities or interests; grind.
-
hard study or hard work; concentrated effort.
verb
noun
-
Also called: swotter. a person who works or studies hard
-
hard work or grind
abbreviation
verb
Other Word Forms
- swotter noun
Etymology
Origin of swot
First recorded in 1840–50; dialectal variant of sweat
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.
She calls herself a swot, which translates roughly to an overenthusiastic student.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 27, 2019
I wasn’t a swot exactly, but I loved to learn and was never without a book.
From The Guardian • Aug. 9, 2019
Their traders swot up on all sorts of exotic sporting knowledge, but for the Paralympics they will only be putting up odds for the likes of David Weir and Ellie Simmonds, if at all.
From BBC • Sep. 5, 2016
For all his brains and later academic renown, he was no swot: he started cramming five days before finals, from an undemanding textbook nicknamed “Economics for the Half-witted Child”.
From Economist • Aug. 13, 2015
I shall spend my life looking after the property, and there’s no particular need to swot for that.”
From A College Girl by Groome, William H. C.
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.