swing for

verb

To be punished severely.

“I'll swing for him, when I get out. Katherine Lynch reported in “Minor Matters: Willing to "Swing for Him."”, in Weekly Mail, Cardiff, 20 June 1908, page 10”

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Meanings

verbswing for (third-person singular simple present swings for, present participle swinging for, simple past and past participle swung for)

present singular third person swings for · participle present swinging for · participle past swung for · past swung for

  1. excessiveinformalTo be punished severely.
  2. To be hanged for a crime.
  3. Swing for someone: To be hanged for murdering someone.

    I'll swing for him, when I get out. Katherine Lynch reported in “Minor Matters: Willing to "Swing for Him."”, in Weekly Mail, Cardiff, 20 June 1908, page 10

Origin

From the sense of "swing" meaning to be hung by the neck as capital punishment.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

swing for. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/swing%20for

MLA

“swing for.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/swing%20for. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “swing for,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/swing%20for.

Source: swing for on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.