swift
1 Americanadjective
-
moving or capable of moving with great speed or velocity; fleet; rapid.
a swift ship.
- Synonyms:
- speedy
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coming, happening, or performed quickly or without delay.
a swift decision.
- Synonyms:
- expeditious
-
quick or prompt to act or respond.
swift to jump to conclusions.
-
Slang. quick to perceive or understand; smart; clever.
You can't cheat him, he's too swift.
adverb
noun
-
any of numerous long-winged, swallowlike birds of the family Apodidae, related to the hummingbirds and noted for their rapid flight.
-
Also called ghost moth. Also called swift moth. any of several brown or gray moths, the males of which are usually white, of the family Hepialidae, noted for rapid flight.
-
an adjustable device upon which a hank of yarn is placed in order to wind off skeins or balls.
-
the main cylinder on a machine for carding flax.
noun
-
Gustavus Franklin, 1839–1903, U.S. meat packer.
-
Jonathan Isaac Bickerstaff, 1667–1745, English satirist and clergyman, born in Ireland.
noun
adjective
-
moving or able to move quickly; fast
-
occurring or performed quickly or suddenly; instant
a swift response
-
prompt to act or respond
swift to take revenge
adverb
noun
-
any bird of the families Apodidae and Hemiprocnidae, such as Apus apus ( common swift ) of the Old World: order Apodiformes. They have long narrow wings and spend most of the time on the wing
-
(sometimes capital) a variety of domestic fancy pigeon originating in Egypt and Syria and having an appearance somewhat similar to a swift
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short for swift moth
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any of certain North American lizards of the genera Sceloporus and Uta that can run very rapidly: family Iguanidae (iguanas)
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the main cylinder in a carding machine
-
an expanding circular frame used to hold skeins of silk, wool, etc
noun
-
Graham Colin. born 1949, English writer: his novels include Waterland (1983), Last Orders (1996), which won the Booker prize, and The Light of Day (2002)
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Jonathan. 1667–1745, Anglo-Irish satirist and churchman, who became dean of St Patrick's, Dublin, in 1713. His works include A Tale of a Tub (1704) and Gulliver's Travels (1726)
Related Words
See quick.
Other Word Forms
- Swiftian adjective
- swiftly adverb
- swiftness noun
Etymology
Origin of swift1
First recorded before 900; Middle English (adjective and adverb), Old English (adjective); akin to Old English swīfan “to revolve,” Old Norse svīfa “to rove”; swivel
Origin of SWIFT3
First recorded in 1970–75
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.
By contrast, the American Economic Association, the primary professional association for economists, did take swift and harsh action.
From Salon
Paramount has undergone a swift transformation under Chief Executive David Ellison following his family’s acquisition of the company last summer.
From Los Angeles Times
“While the near term is clearly strong, we are unsure of the demand elasticity created by the swift and significant price actions taken by Dell,” BofA Securities analyst Wamsi Mohan wrote on Thursday.
From Barron's
But this latest step by Burger King elicited swift condemnation among some social media users who described it as "dystopian".
From BBC
That partly explains the “swift transition from aggressive buying to organized profit taking,” she said.
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.
