swift

comparative swifter · superlative swiftest

1. Fast; quick; rapid.

   swift action

   5 more examples

   swift response

   swift recovery

   The river’s swift current carried the boat downstream.

   She gave a swift reply to his question.

   Spain were provoked into a response and Villa almost provided a swift equaliser when he rounded Hart but found the angle too acute and could only hit the side-netting.

   2011 November 12, Phil McNulty, “International friendly: England 1-0 Spain”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 25 Jun 2021

2. Capable of moving at high speeds.
3. informalQuick-thinking; bright.

   That's what limos do — advertise, and he should have known that. But, as I told you before, officer, he's not too swift.

   2011, Paul A. Lavallee, Firewatch, page 44

comparative more swift · superlative most swift

1. obsoletepoeticSwiftly.

   Ply swift and strong the oar.

   1793, Robert Southey, Lord William

   2 more examples

   Light boats sail swift, though greater hulks draw deep.

   c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii]

   Let no thing escape; / Catch these for me before we all are flown, / Torn, violate, by time’s triumphal rape: / Run swift into the wheeling day; the night / Takes all of us.

   1945, Charles Edward Butler, “Prelude to My Poem”, in Cut Is the Branch (The Yale Series of Younger Poets; 43), New York, N.Y.: AMS Press, published 1971, →ISBN, page 33

   Synonyms: swith

plural swifts

1. A small plain-colored bird of the family Apodidae that resembles a swallow and is noted for its rapid flight.

   Synonyms: needletail, spinetail, swiftlet

2. Any of certain lizards of the genus Sceloporus.

   As a guide to start your collection we'd suggest either iguanas, tejus, swifts, basilisks, horned toads or alligator lizards.

   1965 March, Boys' Life, page 52

   Synonyms: fence lizard, spiny lizard

3. biologyA moth of the family Hepialidae, swift moth, ghost moth.

   Earless ghost swift moths become “invisible” to echolocating bats by forming mating clusters close (less than half a meter) above vegetation and effectively blending into the clutter of echoes that the bat receives from the leaves and stems around them.

   2013 May-June, William E. Conner, “An Acoustic Arms Race”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, pages 206–7

4. biologyAny of various fast-flying hesperiid butterflies.
5. businessA light, collapsible reel used to hold a hank of yarn in order to wind off skeins or balls.
6. The main cylinder of a carding-machine.
7. obsoleteThe current of a stream.

plural Swifts

1. countableuncountableA surname transferred from the nickname, originally a nickname for a swift or quick person.

   Taylor Swift has countless Grammys and American Music Awards, but this new honor will be a first for the global pop star.

   2022 April 20, Megan Marples, “Taylor Swift inspired an entomologist to name a new millipede species after the megastar”, in CNN, archived from the original on 23 Apr 2022

2. countableuncountablecomputer languagesA general-purpose multi-paradigm compiled programming language introduced by Apple Inc. in 2014.

   If anyone outside Apple saw Swift coming, they certainly weren't making any public predictions.

   2014 June 5, John Timmer, “A fast look at Swift, Apple’s new programming language”, in Ars Technica, archived from the original on 25 Mar 2021

   2 more examples

   Apple has made its Swift programming tools open source, Google opened up its TensorFlow machine-learning software, and IBM did the same with its SystemML.

   2015 December 14, Steve Lohr, “Stephen Wolfram Aims to Democratize His Software”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 29 Jan 2023

   Unlike some children’s apps, which employ drag-and-drop blocks to teach coding, the Apple program uses Swift, a professional programming language that the company introduced in 2014.

   2016 September 13, Natasha Singer, “Apple Offers Free App to Teach Children Coding (iPads Sold Separately)”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 08 Nov 2020

3. countableuncountablebankingAlternative letter-case form of SWIFT (“Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication”).

   That year [2012], Iran was cut off from the Swift global payment system.

   2026 January 13, Andrew England, “Iran's stuttering economy sows seeds of unrest”, in Financial Times, page 3

4. A place name:
   1. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in DuPage County, Illinois, United States.
   2. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Roseau County, Minnesota, United States.
   3. countableuncountableAn extinct town in Pemiscot County, Missouri, United States.
   4. countableuncountableA minor river in Leicestershire and Warwickshire, England, United Kingdom; a which joins the (Warwickshire) in Avon north of Rugby.
   5. abbreviationcountableellipsisuncountableEllipsis of Swift County.
5. UKabbreviationacronymcountableuncountableAlternative letter-case form of SWIFT.

1. abbreviationacronymbankingAcronym of Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication.

   Synonyms: Society for Worldwide Financial Telecommunication

2. UKabbreviationacronymAcronym of South Wales Integrated Fast transit.
3. abbreviationacronymaeronauticsAcronym of Southwest Airlines Integrated Flights Tracking.
4. USabbreviationacronymColoradoAcronym of Statewide Interlibrary loan Fast Track.
5. USabbreviationacronymColoradoAcronym of State Wildland Inmate Fire Team.
6. abbreviationacronymcomputingAcronym of Simple Web Interface Toolset.

1. abbreviationacronymrisk analysisbusinessAcronym of Structured What If Technique.
2. abbreviationacronymmathematicsAcronym of Stored Waveform Inverse Fourier Transform.
3. abbreviationacronymsciencesAcronym of Stratospheric Wind Interferometer For Transport Studies.