swaggered; swaggering
ˈswa-g(ə-)riŋ 
1
: to conduct oneself in an arrogant or superciliously pompous manner
especially
: to walk with an air of overbearing self-confidence
: to force by argument or threat : bully
plural swaggers
1
a
: an arrogantly self-confident way of walking : an act or instance of swaggering
b
: arrogant or conceitedly self-assured behavior
c
: ostentatious display or bravado
2
: bold or brash self-confidence
"Taxi" opens with an argument over capital punishment between a progressive female teacher and a condescending loudmouth who's all macho swagger.—
Sheri Linden
Sheri LindenThierry has the swagger of a man who blew off conventional wisdom and turned out just fine.—Ben O'Donnell
Ben O'DonnellSynonyms
Examples of swagger in a Sentence
Verb
He copped a plea, ratted out a dozen no-neck pals and swaggered off to prison, leaving South Beach temporarily without a pied piper.
—Carl Hiaasen, New York Times Book Review, 22 Feb. 2009
So it is a fight rather than an argument, really—a fight over complexity versus ease, a fight that mostly mimics gang war, which is not so much a vigorous instance of manly bloodletting (though it is that too) as a dustup over prestige: who has the prior right to swagger in public.
—Cynthia Ozick, Harper's, April 2007
Sometimes he sauntered through the streets of the old town. He looked with awe at the students of the corps, their cheeks gashed and red, who swaggered about in their coloured caps.
—W. Somerset Maugham, Of Human Bondage, 1915
I, too, would swagger if I'd won first place in the bowling tournament.
hoping to impress the women at the bar, the young man confidently swaggered across the room
Noun
He limps with a noticeable swagger, flamboyantly waving his cane, semi-ironically mimicking the rap stars who are now his peers.
—Matt Diehl, Spin, September 2008
He greeted me with the swagger he's learned since he became a fighter pilot, smiling, his blue eyes glowing.
—Matthew Klam, Harper's, February 1999
What a hero Tom was become, now! He did not go skipping and prancing, but moved with a dignified swagger as became a pirate who felt that the public eye was on him.
—Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer, 1876
He has a swagger that annoys some of his teammates.
Carl Hiaasen, New York Times Book Review, 22 Feb. 2009
So it is a fight rather than an argument, really—a fight over complexity versus ease, a fight that mostly mimics gang war, which is not so much a vigorous instance of manly bloodletting (though it is that too) as a dustup over prestige: who has the prior right to swagger in public.
—Cynthia Ozick, Harper's, April 2007
Sometimes he sauntered through the streets of the old town. He looked with awe at the students of the corps, their cheeks gashed and red, who swaggered about in their coloured caps.
—W. Somerset Maugham, Of Human Bondage, 1915
I, too, would swagger if I'd won first place in the bowling tournament.
hoping to impress the women at the bar, the young man confidently swaggered across the room
Noun
He limps with a noticeable swagger, flamboyantly waving his cane, semi-ironically mimicking the rap stars who are now his peers.
—Matt Diehl, Spin, September 2008
He greeted me with the swagger he's learned since he became a fighter pilot, smiling, his blue eyes glowing.
—Matthew Klam, Harper's, February 1999
What a hero Tom was become, now! He did not go skipping and prancing, but moved with a dignified swagger as became a pirate who felt that the public eye was on him.
—Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer, 1876
He has a swagger that annoys some of his teammates.
Recent Examples on the WebDavid Fear, Rolling Stone, 10 Jan. 2024
Progressed from loafing here and there with scant dollars in my pocket, to swaggering to and fro with a bankroll swelling my sock.
—Mitchell S. Jackson, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2023
These now seem to represent the defining traits of American lawmakers who swagger and shout with little concern for the dangerous consequences their actions set in motion.
—Jason Parham, WIRED, 1 Dec. 2023
With an A-list of guest vocalists, including James Murphy, The Edge, Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie and Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock, to befit Tolhurst and Budgie’s reputation, the album swaggers between industrial, post-punk, and glam rock with a confidence that did not come easily.
—Max Pilley, SPIN, 18 Oct. 2023
Tampa Bay allowed more than 300 passing yards in Week 1 against the Vikings, but may be swaggering behind the better-than-expected performance of quarterback Baker Mayfield.
—Emmanuel Morgan, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2023
Cycling through a series of high boots, Beyoncé vogued and vamped, swaggered and stampeded.
—Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 23 July 2023
James Burke, the swaggering police chief who had been running the department since 2012, was arrested in 2015 and later convicted on federal civil rights and obstruction of justice charges.
—Joseph Goldstein Johnny Milano, New York Times, 20 July 2023
Stein brought Talking Heads, a cerebral CBGBs cohort of the Ramones, to Sire in 1976, then expanded the label’s roster with Chrissie Hynde’s swaggering Pretenders and the noir-ish vistas of U.K. post-punk outfit Echo & the Bunnymen.
—Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2023
Sean Gregory, TIME, 5 Mar. 2024
Gone are the days when the U.S. could simply roll out the ball and dominate teams with its swagger.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2024
Before there was Grupo Frontera boasting borderland swagger or Edgar Barrera’s contributions to the música mexicana scene and his Border Kid Records label, there was Intocable.
—Isabela Raygoza, Billboard, 13 Feb. 2024
Toby Keith, a sometimes polarizing figure in country music who crafted an identity around his macho, pro-American swagger, has died.
—Kristin M. Hall, Fortune, 6 Feb. 2024
Meanwhile, Colin has returned from his summer travels with a new look and a serious sense of swagger.
—Julia Moore, Peoplemag, 20 Mar. 2024
JPMorgan Chase is giving the humble bank branch some swagger.
—David Benoit, WSJ, 13 Mar. 2024
Nonetheless, Hollywood, laboring long within the limits of franchise filmmaking, must indeed be feeling a bit of swagger at having made two such idiosyncratic movies and made money from them.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024
Leaving the seats behind, Gosling stepped into the spotlight to perform the ballad with swagger.
—Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 11 Mar. 2024
Verb
She’s returned for the film version, and from the moment her Regina swaggers into the school lunchroom, the actor owns this film.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 10 Jan. 2024
Progressed from loafing here and there with scant dollars in my pocket, to swaggering to and fro with a bankroll swelling my sock.
—Mitchell S. Jackson, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2023
These now seem to represent the defining traits of American lawmakers who swagger and shout with little concern for the dangerous consequences their actions set in motion.
—Jason Parham, WIRED, 1 Dec. 2023
With an A-list of guest vocalists, including James Murphy, The Edge, Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie and Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock, to befit Tolhurst and Budgie’s reputation, the album swaggers between industrial, post-punk, and glam rock with a confidence that did not come easily.
—Max Pilley, SPIN, 18 Oct. 2023
Tampa Bay allowed more than 300 passing yards in Week 1 against the Vikings, but may be swaggering behind the better-than-expected performance of quarterback Baker Mayfield.
—Emmanuel Morgan, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2023
Cycling through a series of high boots, Beyoncé vogued and vamped, swaggered and stampeded.
—Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 23 July 2023
James Burke, the swaggering police chief who had been running the department since 2012, was arrested in 2015 and later convicted on federal civil rights and obstruction of justice charges.
—Joseph Goldstein Johnny Milano, New York Times, 20 July 2023
Stein brought Talking Heads, a cerebral CBGBs cohort of the Ramones, to Sire in 1976, then expanded the label’s roster with Chrissie Hynde’s swaggering Pretenders and the noir-ish vistas of U.K. post-punk outfit Echo & the Bunnymen.
—Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2023
Noun
Fogarty suggests, however, that Choi show more swagger.
—Sean Gregory, TIME, 5 Mar. 2024
Gone are the days when the U.S. could simply roll out the ball and dominate teams with its swagger.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2024
Before there was Grupo Frontera boasting borderland swagger or Edgar Barrera’s contributions to the música mexicana scene and his Border Kid Records label, there was Intocable.
—Isabela Raygoza, Billboard, 13 Feb. 2024
Toby Keith, a sometimes polarizing figure in country music who crafted an identity around his macho, pro-American swagger, has died.
—Kristin M. Hall, Fortune, 6 Feb. 2024
Meanwhile, Colin has returned from his summer travels with a new look and a serious sense of swagger.
—Julia Moore, Peoplemag, 20 Mar. 2024
JPMorgan Chase is giving the humble bank branch some swagger.
—David Benoit, WSJ, 13 Mar. 2024
Nonetheless, Hollywood, laboring long within the limits of franchise filmmaking, must indeed be feeling a bit of swagger at having made two such idiosyncratic movies and made money from them.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024
Leaving the seats behind, Gosling stepped into the spotlight to perform the ballad with swagger.
—Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 11 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'swagger.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near swagger
Cite this Entry
“Swagger.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/swagger. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
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