swoop
Americanverb (used without object)
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to sweep through the air, as a bird or a bat, especially down upon prey.
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to come down upon something in a sudden, swift attack (often followed by down and on orupon ).
The army swooped down on the town.
verb (used with object)
noun
idioms
verb
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(intr; usually foll by down, on, or upon) to sweep or pounce suddenly
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(tr; often foll by up, away, or off) to seize or scoop suddenly
noun
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the act of swooping
-
a swift descent
Etymology
Origin of swoop
1535–45; variant (with close ō ) of Middle English swopen, Old English swāpan to sweep 1; cognate with German schweifen
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.
While they were out, ravens swooped in and devoured the eggs.
From Los Angeles Times
Here’s who could swoop in with a purchase.
From MarketWatch
And Kate Bush’s immortal 1978 single, with its swooping, operatic drama, interpretive dance–filled video and ghostly narrator only strengthened the book’s rep as a tale of exquisitely tortured love.
From Salon
A frigate bird, his dark wings as wide as the man was tall, swooped curiously.
From Literature
The stunning operation saw US forces swoop in by helicopter under cover of darkness and seize Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores from a highly secured compound in the Venezuelan capital on January 3.
From Barron's
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.
