swat

1 of 4

verb (1)

swatted; swatting

transitive verb

: to hit with a sharp slapping blow usually with an instrument (such as a bat or flyswatter)
swatted the ball for a home run

swat

2 of 4

noun (1)

1
: a powerful or crushing blow
2
: a long hit in baseball
especially : home run

swat

3 of 4

verb (2)

swatted; swatting; swats

transitive + intransitive

: to make a false report of an ongoing serious crime in order to elicit a response from law enforcement (such as the dispatch of a SWAT unit)
Special FBI Agent John Bennett of San Francisco said in a statement to CBS, that those who swat want to see "a tactical response" – specifically, they "want to see armed officers, they want to see a bomb, dogs, helicopters – that's all part of the fun."Bryn Lovitt
The congresswoman had just been "swatted," or subjected to a malicious act in which a person hides their identity, then calls the cops and reports a violent crime at the address of whomever they're targeting.Ryan Grenoble
swatting noun
Prosecutors say that in addition to initiating the swatting episode in Kansas … Mr. Barriss made dozens of other, similar calls to emergency and law enforcement agencies across the country during which he falsely reported bomb threats, active shootings and other criminal activity at high schools, shopping malls and even the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Matt Stevens and Andrew R. Chow

SWAT

4 of 4

noun (2)

often attributive
: a police or military unit specially trained and equipped to handle unusually hazardous situations or missions

Examples of swat in a Sentence

Verb (1) She swatted the fly with a magazine. The cat was swatting the injured mouse with its paw. He swatted the tennis ball out of bounds. Noun (1) the impatient toddler got a swat on his wrist for stepping into the street by himself
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
The suspect got into an argument and assaulted a store employee by swatting their hand down. Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2024 The chief justice also tried to swat away concerns that the ruling would imperil in vitro fertilization (IVF) in Alabama, suggesting that the legislature could restrict IVF embryos to one or two at a time to reduce the number that are destroyed while allowing the procedure. Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, Washington Post, 24 Feb. 2024 Also in January, Judge Tanya Chutkan — the federal judge overseeing the election subversion case against Trump — was the victim of a similar swatting hoax at her Washington, D.C., home, CNN reported. Virginia Chamlee, Peoplemag, 6 Feb. 2024 Morgan, the Pac-12’s leading shot blocker, swatted Deivon Smith’s layup with 5.8 seconds remaining, sealing USC’s 68-64 victory over the Utes at Galen Center on Thursday. Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 16 Feb. 2024 In a growing number of cases, judges in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia are using their platform to swat down conspiracy theories perpetuated by some Jan. 6 defendants and their supporters. Scott MacFarlane, CBS News, 19 Feb. 2024 Meanwhile, Haley’s presidential campaign has requested a Secret Service detail after the Republican candidate’s South Carolina home was the target of two swatting incidents. Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 6 Feb. 2024 The judges overseeing Trump’s trials in New York and Washington, D.C., were also swatted around the same time. Jenny Goldsberry, Washington Examiner, 15 Jan. 2024 There were reports of two swatting incidents in recent months at Haley’s home in South Carolina, one of which occurred while her parents were there. Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 5 Feb. 2024
Noun
That prompted the mom in front of me to quickly cover her ears — and her (possibly embarrassed) daughter to swat away at her hands. Journal Sentinel, 17 Mar. 2024 The Kurdish fighters guard the camp’s perimeter in swat vehicles, and a primarily Kurdish civilian administration manages the camp bureaucracy, coördinating with aid organizations to distribute rations and deliver such basic services as sewage treatment and water. Anand Gopal, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024 Kalkbrenner led the Bluejays with 18 points, nine rebounds and four blocks — none bigger than his swat of Daniss Jenkins' shot in the final minute that led to Alexander's winning free throws. Eric Olson, USA TODAY, 13 Jan. 2024 After Leo Carlsson drew a penalty, Carrick scored on a mid-air swat of a rebound from a shot by Zellweger in the second period. Greg Beacham, USA TODAY, 24 Jan. 2024 Last May, an officer in Danvers, Massachusetts, accidentally fired his service weapon while responding to a school swat. Dhruv Mehrotra, WIRED, 26 Jan. 2024 Prior to these high-profile swats, a relentless campaign from different, potentially foreign, swatting groups targeted hundreds of schools and universities around the US over the past year and a half. Dhruv Mehrotra, WIRED, 26 Jan. 2024 The last few years of the Real Housewives franchise have seen a whole other level of drama, where FBI swat teams showing up to arrest cast members suddenly became part of the canon. Louis Staples, Rolling Stone, 24 Dec. 2023 Reagan and Kennedy didn’t engage with one another so much as swat away barbs from their hostile inquisitors. Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'swat.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb (1)

English dialect, to squat, alteration of English squat

Verb (2)

verbal derivative of swat

Noun (2)

special weapons and tactics

First Known Use

Verb (1)

circa 1796, in the meaning defined above

Noun (1)

circa 1800, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

2007, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1968, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of swat was circa 1796

Dictionary Entries Near swat

Cite this Entry

“Swat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/swat. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

swat

verb
ˈswät
swatted; swatting
: to hit with a quick hard blow
swat noun
swatter noun

Geographical Definition

Swat

geographical name

river 400 miles (644 kilometers) long in Pakistan flowing into the Kabul River

More from Merriam-Webster on swat

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