swat

¹

or swot

[ swot ]

verb (used with object)

, swat·ted, swat·ting.

1. to hit; slap; smack.
2. Baseball. to hit (a ball) powerfully, usually for a long distance.

noun

1. a smart blow; slap; smack.
2. Baseball. a powerfully hit ball.

swat

²

[ swot ]

verb

, Dialect.

1. simple past tense and past participle of sweat.

swat

³

[ swot ]

verb (used without object)

, swat·ted, swat·ting,

1. swot ².

Swat

⁴

[ swaht ]

noun

1. a former princely state in NW India: now a part of Pakistan.
2. Also a Muslim inhabitant of Swat.

SWAT

⁵

or S.W.A.T.

[ swot ]

noun

1. a special section of some law enforcement agencies trained and equipped to deal with especially dangerous or violent situations, as when hostages are being held (often used attributively):

   a SWAT team.

verb (used with or without object)

, swat·ted or SWAT·ted, swat·ting or SWAT·ting.

1. Usually swat. to cause a SWAT team to be deployed on (an unsuspecting victim, especially a public figure or someone prominent on social media) by falsifying a threat, often as a punishment or retaliation:

   His plan was to swat other gamers during their streaming broadcasts so everyone would see it happen.

   The film’s director was swatted when the sequel disappointed fans.

Swat

¹

/ swɒt /

noun

1. a former princely state of NW India: passed to Pakistan in 1947
2. a river in Pakistan, rising in the north and flowing south to the Kabul River north of Peshawar. Length: about 640 km (400 miles)

swat

²

/ swɒt /

verb

1. a variant of swot 1

SWAT

³

/ swɒt /

acronym for

1. Special Weapons and Tactics: a military-like unit within the US police force, trained to deal with specially dangerous situations, such as hostage-taking and riots

swat

⁴

/ swɒt /

verb

1. to strike or hit sharply

   to swat a fly

noun

1. another word (esp Brit) for swatter
2. a sharp or violent blow

Word History and Origins

Origin of swat¹

First recorded in 1615–25; originally variant of squat

Origin of swat²

First recorded in 1965–70; acronym from S(pecial) W(eapons) a(nd) T(actics)

Word History and Origins

Origin of swat¹

C17: northern English dialect and US variant of squat

Example Sentences

Finally, they must possess the ability to force their host to let them finish their meal without getting swatted or becoming a meal themselves.

From Salon

Among other incidents, elections officials have been sent white powder in the post, and have been subjected to “swatting” – anonymous emergency calls about fictional crimes, designed to draw armed police into people’s homes.

From BBC

When Shaheen tested him with bouncers, Brook simply swatted them through mid-off.

From BBC

Other researchers are already using the circuit diagrams, for example to work out why flies are so difficult to swat.

From BBC

People are most commonly stung when they swat at them.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• clobber
• knock
• slap
• slug
• smack
• smash
• whack