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swan

1 American  
[swon] / swɒn /

noun

  1. any of several large, stately aquatic birds of the subfamily Anserinae, having a long, slender neck and usually pure-white plumage in the adult.

  2. a person or thing of unusual beauty, excellence, purity, or the like.

  3. Literary. a person who sings sweetly or a poet.

  4. Astronomy. Swan, the constellation Cygnus.

swan 2 American  
[swon] / swɒn /

verb (used without object)

  1. Midland and Southern U.S. Older Use. to swear or declare (used withI ).

    Well, I swan, I never expected to see you here!
Swan 3 American  
[swon] / swɒn /

noun

  1. Sir Joseph Wilson, 1828–1914, British chemist, electrical engineer, and inventor.

swan 1 British  
/ swɒn /

noun

  1. any large aquatic bird of the genera Cygnus and Coscoroba, having a long neck and usually a white plumage: family Anatidae, order Anseriformes

  2. rare

    1. a poet

    2. ( capital when part of a title or epithet )

      the Swan of Avon (Shakespeare)
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. informal (intr; usually foll by around or about) to wander idly

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Swan 2 British  
/ swɒn /

noun

  1. a river in SW Western Australia, rising as the Avon northeast of Narrogin and flowing northwest and west to the Indian Ocean below Perth. Length: about 240 km (150 miles)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Swan 3 British  
/ swɒn /

noun

  1. Sir Joseph Wilson. 1828–1914, English physicist and chemist, who developed the incandescent electric light (1880) independently of Edison

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • swanlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of swan1

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with German Schwan, Old Norse svanr

Origin of swan2

1775–85, probably continuing dial. (N England) I s'wan, shortening of I shall warrant

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.

In Dawlish, Devon, two black swan nests and 10 eggs were washed away after consecutive January storms brought torrential rain and caused the brook to breach its banks.

From BBC

Although they may not come to pass, there are plenty of potential black swan events that could be lurking in the back half of the 2020s.

From Barron's

But broadly the economy seems fine, so like a swan, the frantic paddling under the surface could combine with the index sailing on serenely.

From The Wall Street Journal

She constantly touches her hair and adjusts her makeup like a swan preening in the sunshine.

From Literature

The upsides to leasing are obvious: You get to swan around town in the latest, greatest car model.

From MarketWatch

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.