swipes

American  

[swahyps] / swaɪps /

noun

(used with a plural verb)

1. poor, watery, or spoiled beer.

2. malt liquor in general, especially beer and small beer.

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swipes British  

/ swaɪps /

plural noun

1. slang beer, esp when poor or weak

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Etymology

Origin of swipes

1780–90; noun plural use of swipe to drink down at one gulp, variant of sweep ¹

Example Sentences

The selloff began after Anthropic announced that its Claude Code tool could automate the modernization of COBOL, a decades-old programming language that underpins most ATM transactions and in-person credit card swipes.

From Barron's • Feb. 24, 2026

Stomach gnawing and hands slightly shaky, I loaded up on ephemera for fancy paninis, held together with swipes of giardiniera mayo, and splurged on some pastel-hued botanical sodas for drinking straight from the can.

From Salon • Jan. 1, 2026

But after making a New Year’s resolution to log every single one of her credit card swipes, she realized a considerable portion of her paycheck was going to “junk.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025

Some groan-inducing puns aside, Rushdie’s comic touches are deftly managed, appearing as sharp satirical swipes or witty repartee.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 4, 2025

The captain swipes the bird off, dislodging several bright feathers, but the parrot is undeterred.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman