swing

/swɪŋ/

/swɪŋ/

Other forms: swung; swinging; swings; swingeing

To swing is to sway back and forth, or to move in a sweeping, curving motion. Wind chimes swing in the breeze, and a softball player swings her bat, aiming for the ball.

A TV hypnotist will swing a shiny object in front of a patient's face and say, "You are getting very sleepy." Kids on a playground will happily swing on swings for hours. And if you hear a sudden scary noise behind you, you might swing around in alarm or even take a swing, or a punch, in its direction. Since 1933, the noun swing has also meant a type of big-band jazz music.

Definitions of swing

1. verb

   change direction with a swinging motion; turn
   “swing back”

   “swing forward”

   type of:

   go, locomote, move, travel

   change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
2. verb

   move or walk in a swinging or swaying manner
   “He swung back”

   synonyms: sway

   types:

   waver, weave

   sway to and fro

   lash

   lash or flick about sharply

   oscillate, vibrate

   move or swing from side to side regularly

   brachiate

   swing from one hold to the next

   hunt

   oscillate about a desired speed, position, or state to an undesirable extent

   librate

   vibrate before coming to a total rest

   type of:

   move back and forth

   move in one direction and then into the opposite direction
3. verb

   alternate dramatically between high and low values
   “his mood swings”

   “the market is swinging up and down”

   types:

   fluctuate, vacillate, waver

   move or sway in a rising and falling or wavelike pattern

   type of:

   change

   undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature
4. noun

   changing location by moving back and forth
   synonyms: swinging, vacillation

   type of:

   motion, move, movement

   the act of changing location from one place to another
5. noun

   mechanical device used as a plaything to support someone swinging back and forth
   types:

   trapeze

   a swing used by circus acrobats

   type of:

   mechanical device

   mechanism consisting of a device that works on mechanical principles

   plaything, toy

   an artifact designed to be played with
6. verb

   move in a curve or arc, usually with the intent of hitting
   “He swung his left fist”

   “swing a bat”

   types:

   wind up

   give a preliminary swing to the arm pitching

   type of:

   displace, move

   cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense
7. verb

   hit or aim at with a sweeping arm movement
   “The soccer player began to swing at the referee”

   type of:

   aim, direct, take, take aim, train

   point or cause to go (blows, weapons, or objects such as photographic equipment) towards
8. verb

   make a big sweeping gesture or movement
   synonyms: sweep, swing out

   type of:

   handle, manage, wield

   manage or wield effectively
9. noun

   a sweeping blow or stroke
   “he took a wild swing at my head”

   type of:

   blow, buffet

   a powerful stroke with the fist or a weapon
10. noun

    the act of swinging a golf club at a golf ball and (usually) hitting it
    synonyms: golf shot, golf stroke

    types:

    downswing

    a swing downward of a golf club

    fade, slice, slicing

    a golf shot that curves to the right for a right-handed golfer

    draw, hook, hooking

    a golf shot that curves to the left for a right-handed golfer

    drive, driving

    hitting a golf ball off of a tee with a driver

    explosion

    a golf shot from a bunker that typically moves sand as well as the golf ball

    putt, putting

    hitting a golf ball that is on the green using a putter

    approach, approach shot

    a relatively short golf shot intended to put the ball onto the putting green

    sclaff

    a poor golf stroke in which the club head hits the ground before hitting the ball

    shank

    a poor golf stroke in which the heel of the club hits the ball

    teeoff

    the act of hitting a golf ball from the teeing ground at the start of each hole

    chip, chip shot

    (golf) a low running approach shot

    pitch, pitch shot

    a high approach shot in golf

    type of:

    shot, stroke

    (sports) the act of swinging or striking at a ball with a club or racket or bat or cue or hand
11. noun

    in baseball; a batter's attempt to hit a pitched ball
    synonyms: baseball swing, cut

    type of:

    shot, stroke

    (sports) the act of swinging or striking at a ball with a club or racket or bat or cue or hand
12. verb

    hang freely
    synonyms: dangle, drop

    types:

    droop, loll

    hang loosely or laxly

    type of:

    hang

    be suspended or hanging
13. verb

    influence decisively
    “This action swung many votes over to his side”

    synonyms: swing over

    type of:

    act upon, influence, work

    have and exert influence or effect
14. verb

    live in a lively, modern, and relaxed style
    “The Woodstock generation attempted to swing freely”

    type of:

    live

    lead a certain kind of life; live in a certain style
15. verb

    be a social swinger; socialize a lot
    synonyms: get around

    type of:

    socialise, socialize

    take part in social activities; interact with others
16. verb

    engage freely in promiscuous sex, often with the husband or wife of one's friends
    type of:

    fornicate

    have sex without being married
17. noun

    a state of steady vigorous action that is characteristic of an activity
    “the party went with a swing”

    “it took time to get into the swing of things”

    type of:

    action, activeness, activity

    the state of being active
18. verb

    have a certain musical rhythm
    “The music has to swing”

    type of:

    be

    have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)
19. verb

    play with a subtle and intuitively felt sense of rhythm
    type of:

    play

    play on an instrument
20. noun

    a style of jazz played by big bands popular in the 1930s; flowing rhythms but less complex than later styles of jazz
    synonyms: jive, swing music

    type of:

    jazz

    a genre of popular music that originated in New Orleans around 1900 and developed through increasingly complex styles
21. noun

    a jaunty rhythm in music
    synonyms: lilt

    type of:

    rhythmicity

    the rhythmic property imparted by the accents and relative durations of notes in a piece of music
22. noun

    a square dance figure; a pair of dancers join hands and dance around a point between them
    type of:

    contra danse, contradance, contredanse, country dancing, country-dance

    a type of folk dance in which couples are arranged in sets or face one another in a line