swoop

[ swoop ]

verb (used without object)

1. to sweep through the air, as a bird or a bat, especially down upon prey.
2. to come down upon something in a sudden, swift attack (often followed by down and on or upon ):

   The army swooped down on the town.

verb (used with object)

1. to take, lift, scoop up, or remove with or as with one sweeping motion (often followed by up, away, or off ):

   He swooped her up in his arms.

noun

1. an act or instance of swooping; a sudden, swift descent.

   Synonyms: drop, sweep, plunge, dive

swoop

/ swuːp /

verb

1. intr; usually foll by down, on, or upon to sweep or pounce suddenly
2. tr; often foll by up, away, or off to seize or scoop suddenly

noun

1. the act of swooping
2. a swift descent

Word History and Origins

Origin of swoop¹

1535–45; variant (with close ō ) of Middle English swopen, Old English swāpan to sweep ¹; cognate with German schweifen

Word History and Origins

Origin of swoop¹

Old English swāpan to sweep; related to Old High German sweifan to swing around, Old Norse sveipa to throw

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. at / in one fell swoop, all at once or all together, as if by one blow:

   The quake flattened the houses at one fell swoop.

More idioms and phrases containing swoop

see one fell swoop .

Example Sentences

It’s going to be so great when this leads to seeing more of you on Netflix and they’ll be like, why didn’t we swoop in on all of his other specials?

From Los Angeles Times

No more swooping in to prevent government shutdowns, which enables the Republicans to keep railing against “fiscal irresponsibility” while avoiding the political consequences.

From Salon

Nevada’s measure sought to remove both slavery and involuntary servitude as punishments for crimes in one fell swoop, since both terms were still in its constitution.

From Los Angeles Times

Incessantly, swooping seabirds and crows crowd the sky, following Bailey everywhere, drawing her adoring consideration as subjects of artful phone videos.

From Los Angeles Times

Hwang tried for 10 years to get Squid Game made, taking out large loans to support his family, before Netflix swooped in.

From BBC

Related Words

• dive
• plummet
• pounce