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swoop

Pronunciation: /swuːp/

Translate swoop | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of swoop

verb

[no object, with adverbial of direction]
  • (especially of a bird) move rapidly downwards through the air:the barn owl can swoop down on a mouse in total darkness the aircraft swooped in to land
  • carry out a sudden attack, especially in order to make a capture or arrest:armed police swooped on a flat after a tip-off
  • [with object] informal seize with a sweeping motion:she swooped up the hen in her arms

noun

  • a swooping or snatching movement or action:four members were arrested following a swoop by detectives on their homes

Phrases

at (or in) one fell swoop

see fell4.

Origin:

mid 16th century (in the sense 'sweep along in a stately manner'): perhaps a dialect variant of Old English swāpan (see sweep). The early sense of the noun was 'a blow, stroke'

swoop in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of swoop in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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