swipe

[ swahyp ]

noun

1. a swing of the arm, paw, etc., in order to strike someone or something:

   He made a swipe at me, but I ducked!

   A swipe from the cat could mean an injured eye for your new pup.

2. a critical or cutting remark:

   Her speech contained a few nasty swipes at the other leading candidate.

3. a swift pass of something over a surface or through a slot:

   You can debit your checking account with just a swipe of your card.

   It’ll take more than a few swipes with a sponge to clean this sink.

4. a strong, sweeping blow or stroke:

   It only took two swipes with the ax to bring the sapling down.

5. a sideswipe.
6. a leverlike device for raising or lowering a weight, especially a bucket in a well; sweep.
7. Also called rubber. Horse Racing. a person who rubs down horses in a stable; groom.

verb (used with object)

, swiped, swip·ing.

1. Informal. to steal:

   He'll swipe anything that isn't nailed down.

2. to slide (a magnetic card) quickly through an electronic device that reads data:

   Just swipe your credit card if tapping doesn’t work.

3. Digital Technology. to move a finger or fingers across an area on (a touchscreen) in order to execute a command:

   Swipe the screen upward to unlock your phone.

4. to hit, brush, or wipe with a swift, sweeping stroke:

   I swiped my face with my sleeve.

verb (used without object)

, swiped, swip·ing.

1. to make a swift, sweeping stroke:

   The waiter swiped at our table with a damp cloth.

   The giant swiped at the mouse with his boulder-sized fists.

2. to slide a magnetic card through an electronic device.
3. Digital Technology. to move the fingers across a touchscreen:

   Swipe down from the top to find your Favorites.

swipe

/ swaɪp /

verb

1. informal.
   whenintr, usually foll by at to hit hard with a sweeping blow
2. slang.
   tr to steal
3. tr to pass a machine-readable card, such as a credit card, debit card, etc, through a machine that electronically interprets the information encoded, usu. in a magnetic strip, on the card

noun

1. informal.
   a hard blow
2. an unexpected criticism of someone or something while discussing another subject
3. Also calledsweep a type of lever for raising and lowering a weight, such as a bucket in a well

Word History and Origins

Origin of swipe¹

First recorded in 1730–40; cognate with German schweifen; sweep ¹( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of swipe¹

C19: perhaps related to sweep

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. swipe left,
   1. Digital Technology. to move the fingers to the left on a touchscreen: originally, on some sites, a way to close or dismiss something:

      Users of the dating app can swipe left to indicate they are not interested in the photos and move on to the next person.

      Tap on the icon and swipe left to begin recording.

   2. to reject something or someone (often used with on ):

      You’ll find nicer apartments than this—swipe left!

      Even with a six-figure salary, I think I’d swipe left on that job.

2. swipe right,
   1. Digital Technology. to move the fingers to the right on a touchscreen: originally, on some sites, a way to open, approve, or opt for something:

      Swipe right on the profile to send the person a message.

      Swipe right to continue.

   2. to choose in favor of something or someone; approve (often used with on ):

      An iced cappuccino on a hot day like today—I’ll swipe right on that!

Example Sentences

Swipe, pass judgment, see who likes you and see if anyone likes you back.

From The Daily Beast

We are going through and looking for people that we would honestly ‘swipe right’ for.

From The Daily Beast

“One swipe with a crowbar and he would have been down,” Sasha said.

From The Daily Beast

Meanwhile, Paul has claimed the mantle of Reaganism for his foreign policy views, in a direct swipe at Ted Cruz.

From The Daily Beast

Flawless skin, perfect hair, and bright white teeth are all just a swipe away.

From The Daily Beast

And Robarts raised his bat, prepared for a good swipe if the ball came within reach, which he did not much expect.

From Project Gutenberg

First they swipe my girl and erase all traces of her; then when I go looking they offer me help and sympathy for my distress.

From Project Gutenberg

So far, Security has played one nation against another enough to keep any from daring to swipe power on the planets.

From Project Gutenberg

I wade in as far as I can, and make a tremendous swipe with the rod.

From Project Gutenberg

They've got their auto out in some sort of a shed and if we could run it we could swipe the whole thing.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• slap