swan dive
a forward dive in which the diver while in the air assumes a position with the arms outstretched at shoulder height and the legs straight and together, and enters the water with the arms stretched above the head.
Origin of swan dive
1- Also called, especially British, swallow dive.
Words Nearby swan dive
Other definitions for swan-dive (2 of 2)
to perform a swan dive.
to decrease suddenly and decisively; plummet: Stock prices swan-dived overnight.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use swan dive in a sentence
The Memphis metropolitan daily, the aptly named Commercial Appeal, took a swan dive on the story.
The Strange and Mysterious Death of Mrs. Jerry Lee Lewis | Richard Ben Cramer | January 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe only thing we can be sure of is that what little credibility Congress has left took a swan dive on Friday.
The mechanic seemed to do a beautiful swan dive through the flame-tinted air for a moment.
Dave Dawson with the Commandos | R. Sidney BowenAnd come he did, in a swan dive that was almost professional and that brought handclapping approval from the girls.
The Little Lady of the Big House | Jack LondonRay climbed up on the rail, poised there a second, then attempted a swan dive.
Stairway to the Stars | Larry Shaw
Some white man must have taught him, for he made the proper swan dive and did it as beautifully as I have ever seen it.
The Night-Born | Jack LondonTen seconds later, as the lapping waves reached for her, she did a sort of swan dive and landed flat with the raft beneath her.
Sally Scott of the Waves | Roy J. Snell
British Dictionary definitions for swan dive
US and Canadian a type of dive in which the diver arches back while in the air, keeping his legs straight and together and his arms outstretched, finally entering the water headfirst: Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): swallow dive
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
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