SWING

swing, swinging, vacillation

(noun) changing location by moving back and forth

swing

(noun) a square dance figure; a pair of dancers join hands and dance around a point between them

swing

(noun) a sweeping blow or stroke; “he took a wild swing at my head”

swing

(noun) mechanical device used as a plaything to support someone swinging back and forth

lilt, swing

(noun) a jaunty rhythm in music

swing, swing music, jive

(noun) a style of jazz played by big bands popular in the 1930s; flowing rhythms but less complex than later styles of jazz

swing

(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”

swing

(verb) alternate dramatically between high and low values; “his mood swings”; “the market is swinging up and down”

swing

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

swing

(verb) engage freely in promiscuous sex, often with the husband or wife of one’s friends; “There were many swinging couples in the 1960’s”

swing, sweep, swing out

(verb) make a big sweeping gesture or movement

swing

(verb) play with a subtle and intuitively felt sense of rhythm

swing, sway

(verb) move or walk in a swinging or swaying manner; “He swung back”

swing

(verb) change direction with a swinging motion; turn; “swing back”; “swing forward”

swing

(verb) move in a curve or arc, usually with the intent of hitting; “He swung his left fist”; “swing a bat”

swing, get around

(verb) be a social swinger; socialize a lot

swing, swing over

(verb) influence decisively; “This action swung many votes over to his side”

swing

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

dangle, swing, drop

(verb) hang freely; “the ornaments dangled from the tree”; “The light dropped from the ceiling”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Verb

swing (third-person singular simple present swings, present participle swinging, simple past (archaic or dialectal) swang or swung, past participle (archaic) swungen or swung)

(intransitive) To rotate about an off-centre fixed point.

(intransitive) To dance.

(intransitive) To ride on a swing.

(intransitive) To participate in the swinging lifestyle; to participate in wife-swapping.

(intransitive) To hang from the gallows.

(intransitive, cricket, of a ball) to move sideways in its trajectory.

(intransitive) To fluctuate or change.

(transitive) To move (an object) backward and forward; to wave.

(transitive) To change (a numerical result); especially to change the outcome of an election.

(transitive) To make (something) work; especially to afford (something) financially.

(transitive, music) 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.

(transitive, cricket) (of a bowler) to make the ball move sideways in its trajectory.

(transitive and intransitive, boxing) To move one's arm in a punching motion.

(transitive) In dancing, to turn around in a small circle with one's partner, holding hands or arms.

(transitive, engineering) To admit or turn something for the purpose of shaping it; said of a lathe.

(transitive, carpentry) To put (a door, gate, etc.) on hinges so that it can swing or turn.

(nautical) To turn round by action of wind or tide when at anchor.

Troponyms

• (to rotate about an off-centre fixed point): pivot, swivel

Noun

swing (countable and uncountable, plural swings)

The manner in which something is swung.

The sweep or compass of a swinging body.

A line, cord, or other thing suspended and hanging loose, upon which anything may swing.

A hanging seat in a children's playground, for acrobats in a circus, or on a porch for relaxing.

A dance style.

(music) The genre of music associated with this dance style.

The amount of change towards or away from something.

(politics) In an election, the increase or decrease in the number of votes for opposition parties compared with votes for the incumbent party.

(cricket) Sideways movement of the ball as it flies through the air.

Capacity of a turning lathe, as determined by the diameter of the largest object that can be turned in it.

In a musical theater production, a performer who understudies several roles.

A basic dance step in which a pair link hands and turn round together in a circle.

(obsolete) Free course; unrestrained liberty.

Influence or power of anything put in motion.

(boxing) A type of hook with the arm more extended.

Anagrams

• Gwins, wings

Proper noun

Swing (plural Swings)

A surname.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Swing is the 15546th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 1882 individuals. Swing is most common among White (84.06%) individuals.

Anagrams

• Gwins, wings

Source: Wiktionary


Swing, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Swung; Archaic imp. Swang; p. pr. & vb. n. Swinging.] Etym: [OE. swingen, AS. swingan to scourge, to fly, to flutter; akin to G. schwingen to winnow, to swingle, oscillate, sich schwingen to leap, to soar, OHG. swingan to throw, to scourge, to soar, Sw. svinga to swing, to whirl, Dan. svinge. Cf. Swagger, Sway, Swinge, Swink.]

1. To move to and fro, as a body suspended in the air; to wave; to vibrate; to oscillate. I tried if a pendulum would swing faster, or continue swinging longer, in case of exsuction of the air. Boyle.

2. To sway or move from one side or direction to another; as, the door swung open.

3. To use a swing; as, a boy swings for exercise or pleasure. See Swing, n., 3.

4. (Naut.)

Definition: To turn round by action of wind or tide when at anchor; as, a ship swings with the tide.

5. To be hanged. [Colloq.] D. Webster. To swing round the circle, to make a complete circuit. [Colloq.] He had swung round the circle of theories and systems in which his age abounded, without finding relief. A. V. G. Allen.

Swing, v. t.

1. To cause to swing or vibrate; to cause to move backward and forward, or from one side to the other. He swings his tail, and swiftly turns his round. Dryden. They get on ropes, as you must have seen the children, and are swung by their men visitants. Spectator.

2. To give a circular movement to; to whirl; to brandish; as, to swing a sword; to swing a club; hence, colloquially, to manage; as, to swing a business.

3. (Mach.)

Definition: To admit or turn (anything) for the purpose of shaping it; -- said of a lathe; as, the lathe can swing a pulley of 12 inches diameter. To swing a door, gate, etc. (Carp.), to put it on hinges so that it can swing or turn.

Swing, n.

1. The act of swinging; a waving, oscillating, or vibratory motion of a hanging or pivoted object; oscillation; as, the swing of a pendulum.

2. Swaying motion from one side or direction to the other; as, some men walk with a swing.

3. A line, cord, or other thing suspended and hanging loose, upon which anything may swing; especially, an apparatus for recreation by swinging, commonly consisting of a rope, the two ends of which are attached overhead, as to the bough of a tree, a seat being placed in the loop at the bottom; also, any contrivance by which a similar motion is produced for amusement or exercise.

4. Influence of power of a body put in swaying motion. The ram that batters down the wall, For the great swing and rudeness of his poise, They place before his hand that made the engine. Shak.

5. Capacity of a turning lathe, as determined by the diameter of the largest object that can be turned in it.

6. Free course; unrestrained liberty or license; tendency. "Take thy swing." Dryden. To prevent anything which may prove an obstacle to the full swing of his genius. Burke. Full swing. See under Full.

– Swing beam (Railway Mach.), a crosspiece sustaining the car body, and so suspended from the framing of a truck that it may have an independent lateral motion.

– Swing bridge, a form of drawbridge which swings horizontally, as on a vertical pivot.

– Swing plow, or Swing plough. (a) A plow without a fore wheel under the beam. (b) A reversible or sidehill plow.

– Swing wheel. (a) The scape-wheel in a clock, which drives the pendulum. (b) The balance of a watch.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

29 April 2024

SUBDUCTION

(noun) a geological process in which one edge of a crustal plate is forced sideways and downward into the mantle below another plate


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