swift

/swɪft/

/swɪft/

Other forms: swifter; swiftest; swifts

If you were the first one to reach the finish line in gym class, the coach might have called you swift. Swift means quick or fast-moving. A glance, a current, even a decision can be swift.

You can use the adjective swift to describe things that move or happen rapidly and smoothly. Deciding to borrow a parent's car without permission could result in swift punishment. Foxes are so swift that if you leave the chicken coop open for a moment, one might slip in. Conversely, if innuendo sails over your head, your friends might say, “You’re not too swift on the uptake, are you?” A swift is also a small bird that looks a lot like a swallow.

Definitions of swift

1. adjective

   moving very fast
   “a swift current”

   “swift flight of an arrow”

   “a swift runner”

   synonyms: fleet

   fast

   acting or moving or capable of acting or moving quickly
2. noun

   a small bird that resembles a swallow and is noted for its rapid flight
   types:

   Apus apus, European swift

   common European bird with a shrieking call that nests chiefly about eaves of buildings or on cliffs

   Chateura pelagica, chimney swallow, chimney swift

   American swift that nests in e.g. unused chimneys

   Collocalia inexpectata, swiftlet

   swift of eastern Asia; produces the edible bird's nest

   type of:

   apodiform bird

   nonpasserine bird having long wings and weak feet; spends much of its time in flight
3. noun

   common western lizard; seen on logs or rocks
   synonyms: Sceloporus occidentalis, blue-belly, western fence lizard

   type of:

   fence lizard

   spiny lizard often seen basking on fences in the United States and northern Mexico