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Synonyms

swat

1 American  
[swot] / swɒt /
Or swot

verb (used with object)

swatted, swatting

  1. to hit; slap; smack.

  2. Baseball. to hit (a ball) powerfully, usually for a long distance.

noun

  1. a smart blow; slap; smack.

  2. Baseball. a powerfully hit ball.

swat 2 American  
[swot] / swɒt /

verb

Dialect.

  1. simple past tense and past participle of sweat.

swat 3 American  
[swot] / swɒt /

verb (used without object)

swatted, swatting

  1. swot.

Swat 4 American  
[swaht] / swɑt /

noun

  1. a former princely state in NW India: now a part of Pakistan.

  2. Also a Muslim inhabitant of Swat.

SWAT 5 American  
[swot] / swɒt /
Or S.W.A.T.

noun

  1. a special section of some law enforcement agencies trained and equipped to deal with especially dangerous or violent situations, as when hostages are being held (often used attributively).

    a SWAT team.

verb (used with or without object)

swatted, SWATted, swatting, SWATting

  1. Usually swat to cause a SWAT team to be deployed on (an unsuspecting victim, especially a public figure or someone prominent on social media) by falsifying a threat, often as a punishment or retaliation.

    His plan was to swat other gamers during their streaming broadcasts so everyone would see it happen.

    The film’s director was swatted when the sequel disappointed fans.
swat 1 British  
/ swɒt /

verb

  1. to strike or hit sharply

    to swat a fly
"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

noun

  1. another word (esp Brit) for swatter

  2. a sharp or violent blow

"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
Swat 2 British  
/ swɒt /

noun

  1. a former princely state of NW India: passed to Pakistan in 1947

  2. a river in Pakistan, rising in the north and flowing south to the Kabul River north of Peshawar. Length: about 640 km (400 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
SWAT 3 British  
/ swɒt /

acronym

  1. Special Weapons and Tactics: a military-like unit within the US police force, trained to deal with specially dangerous situations, such as hostage-taking and riots

"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
swat 4 British  
/ swɒt /

verb

  1. a variant of swot 1

"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

Etymology

Origin of swat1

First recorded in 1615–25; originally variant of squat

Origin of SWAT5

First recorded in 1965–70; acronym from S(pecial) W(eapons) a(nd) T(actics)

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.

Pixies fluttered in front of my face and chirped in my ears, and I swatted at them.

From Literature

After a year-long winning streak, they have suffered back-to-back Six Nations defeats, having been swatted aside by Scotland at Murrayfield seven days before their trouncing by Ireland.

From BBC

In South Tangerang, some pedestrians gagged and swatted at swarms of flies as they walked down littered streets.

From Barron's

Reigning champions France swatted aside Ireland in round one and ran eight tries past Wales in front of a large travelling contingent at the Principality Stadium.

From BBC

I’m swatting them away when the mail truck turns onto our street.

From Literature

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.