English Explanatory Dictionary

swing

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To rotate about an off-centre fixed point.
  2. To dance.
  3. To ride on a swing.
  4. To participate in the swinging lifestyle; to participate in wifeswapping.
  5. To hang from the gallows; to be punished by hanging, swing for something or someone; (often hyperbolic) to be severely punished.
  6. To move sideways in its trajectory.
  7. (of a bowler) To make the ball move sideways in its trajectory.
  8. To fluctuate or change.
  9. To move (an object) backward and forward; to wave.
  10. To change (a numerical result); especially to change the outcome of an election.
  11. To make (something) work; especially to afford (something) financially.
  12. To play notes that are in pairs by making the first of the pair slightly longer than written (augmentation) and the second shorter, resulting in a bouncy, uneven rhythm.
noun
  1. The act, or an instance, of swinging.
  2. The manner in which something is swung.
  3. The sweep or compass of a swinging body.
  4. A line, cord, or other thing suspended and hanging loose, upon which anything may swing.
  5. A hanging seat that can swing back and forth, in a children's playground, for acrobats in a circus, or on a porch for relaxing.
  6. An energetic and acrobatic late-1930s partner-based dance style, also known as jitterbug and lindy-hop.
  7. The genre of music associated with this dance style.
  8. The amount of change towards or away from something.
  9. In an election, the increase or decrease in the number of votes for opposition parties compared with votes for the incumbent party.
  10. Sideways movement of the ball as it flies through the air.
  11. Capacity of a turning lathe, as determined by the diameter of the largest object that can be turned in it.
  12. In a musical theater production, a performer who understudies several roles.
name
  1. A surname.

Pronunciation

/ˈswɪŋ/ en-us-swing.ogg en-au-swing.ogg

Word forms

swing swings swinging swung swang swungen

Etymology

From Middle English swyngen, from Old English swingan, from Proto-West Germanic *swingan, from Proto-Germanic *swinganą (compare Low German swingen, German schwingen, Dutch zwingen, Swedish svinga), from Proto-Indo-European *swenk-, *sweng- (compare Scottish Gaelic seang (“thin”)). Related to swink.

Synonyms

dance on a rope dance on nothing dance the hempen jig dance the Tyburn jig dance upon nothing dangle hang ride a horse foaled by an acorn stretch hemp string up swing take a ride to Tyburn trine truss wag hemp

Derived words

aswing at church every time the doors swing open come out swinging forswing mis-swing not enough room to swing a cat overswing swingable swing at anchor swing away swing back swingbin swingboat swing both ways swingby swing by swinger swing for swing for the fence swing for the fences swing into action swingle swing off swing one's dick around swing out swing over swing round the circle swing tag swing that way swing the lead swing through swing-wing swing wing swingy counterswing outswing upswing away swing backswing bird's nest swing check swing check-swing compass swing downswing electro swing go with a swing gypsy swing in full swing inswing Kuznets swing love swing midswing mood swing neo-swing new jack swing new jill swing porch swing preswing reverse swing rope swing

Translations

Finnish: lyödä kierre Bulgarian: суинг Bulgarian: отклонение Bulgarian: амплитуда Czech: swing Dutch: swing Esperanto: svingo Finnish: swing Finnish: heilahdus French: swing French: variation French: revirement Macedonian: свинг Macedonian: за́мав Portuguese: swing Russian: свинг Russian: разма́х Zazaki: hêlnayış Greek: μεταστροφή
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