swat

present singular third person swats · participle present swatting · participle past swatted · past swatted

1. transitiveTo beat off, as insects; to bat, strike, or hit.

   The cat swatted at the feather.

   3 more examples

   He swatted the mosquito that was buzzing around in his bedroom.

   2017, Jennifer S. Holland, For These Monkeys, It’s a Fight for Survival., National Geographic (March 2017)http://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/03/macaques-monkeys-indonesia-endangered-pet-trade/ During my first day in the woods, Raoul, the big alpha male of Rambo II, opened wide to show me his dagger-sharp canines, then sauntered by and swatted my calf with a stick—letting me know my place in the social order. (Low.)

   However, Johnston's luck seems to have run out, as it is hit almost simultaneously by three 18-inch shells and three 6.1-inch shells from Yamato, which has decided to swat the irritating vessel.

   2019 February 27, Drachinifel, 19:53 from the start, in The Battle of Samar - Odds? What are those?, archived from the original on 03 Nov 2022

plural swats

1. A hard stroke, hit or blow, e.g., as part of a spanking.
2. alternativeAlternative spelling of swot: vigorous study at an educational institution.

   2 more examples

   These seemed to be talking very vehemently about something they called " swat." One of these young gentlemen who had black hair and a pimpled face, seeing Peregrine, turned round and asked him "how far had he gone?" "Where" asked Peregrine, hastily. "In swat!" said the pimple-faced boy. "What's swat?" asked Peregrine Pultuney. "In your studies," said he of the pimples.

   1844, John William Kaye, chapter 3, in Peregrine Pultuney: or, Life in India, volume I, Adelaide Street, Trafalgar Square, London: John Mortimer, retrieved 08 Jan 2020, page 73

   There is work enough—and too much—without this voluntary labor. The confinement during the bright sunny hours of the day is irksome and dispiriting; and it may be fairly questioned whether less would be learnt, if the study hours were reduced from nine to seven—especially as the greater part of these nine long hours is devoted to Mathematics. The cadets have a shorter word for it; they call it swat—a monosyllable which may puzzle the etimologists; but we believe it to be a corruption of the word sweat, and as signifying that a knowledge of mathematics is only to be acquired with much toil—with much sweat of the brow—a sufficiently expressive, word it must be acknowledged.

   1844, “Rules and Regulations of the Honorable East India Company's Seminary at Addiscombe, 1834”, in John William Kaye, editor, Calcutta Review, volume II, No. 4 Tank Square, Calcutta: Sanders and Cones, retrieved 08 Jan 2020, page 136

present singular third person swats · participle present swatting · participle past swatted · past swatted

1. USslangtransitiveTo illegitimately provoke a SWAT assault upon (someone).

   “Gonna need the instagram account … or i will continue to swat and harass you and your family,” Mr. Sonderman or one of his co-conspirators wrote in March 2020, according to court documents.

   2021 July 24, Maria Cramer, “A Grandfather Died in ‘Swatting’ Over His Twitter Handle, Officials Say”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

   2 more examples

   The conspiracy, as alleged, began in November 2002, and has resulted in hundreds of harassing and swatting calls being made, both nationally and internationally, with hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses and the disruption hundreds of victims’ lives.

   2007 November 30, ““Swatters” Plead Guilty to Conspiracy”, in Federal Bureau of Investigation Dallas Field Division, archived from the original on 26 Dec 2007

   “You've just been swatted.” “What?” Sophia asked. “A spoofed call to police, claiming an emergency, to get a SWAT response,” Evelyn said. Realizing why the SWAT officer had noticed the controller, she guessed, […]

   2017, Elizabeth Heiter, Stalked, MIRA, →ISBN

plural SWATs · alternative S.W.A.T.

1. USabbreviationacronymcountableuncountablegovernmentAcronym of special weapons and tactics, the area of expertise of police officers trained and equipped to neutralize armed or entrenched criminals.

   After Trump won the 2024 election and rumors of a cost-cutting-and-efficiency SWAT team began to swirl, Dudek asked people he knew at big tech companies for introductions to potential DOGE members.

   2025 September 8, Eli Hager, “The Untold Saga of What Happened When DOGE Stormed Social Security”, in ProPublica

2. UScountableuncountablegovernmentA SWAT team.

   "This situation is out of control. We need a SWAT," the policeman said.

1. A district of Malakand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
2. A valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
3. A river in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.