What does "swag" mean?
A loop of draped fabric.
Swag
/swæɡ/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A loop of draped fabric.
- Grammar: swag is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: booty, loot, plunder, angularity.
- Useful contrasts: diffidence, donate, insecurity.
- Usage evidence: The reporter's luggage was filled with branded swag from the promotional event.
How to use "swag"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "swag" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "swag" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "swag" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "swag" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "swag" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "booty" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "swag", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A loop of draped fabric.
"He looked in bewilderment at number 24, the final house with its regalia of stucco swags and bows."
- 2 Style; fashionable appearance or manner. slang, uncountable
"Now this dude got swag, and he was pushing up on me but, it wasn't like we was kicking it or anything!"
- 3 Stolen goods; the booty of a burglar or thief; boodle. uncountable
"The swag, is a term used in speaking of any booty you have lately obtained, be it of what kind it may, except money; as where did you lumber the swag? that is, where did you deposit the stolen property? To carry the swag is to be the bearer of the stolen goods to a place of safety."
- 4 Alternative letter-case form of SWAG; a wild guess or ballpark estimate. alt-of
"I can take a swag at the answer, but it may not be right."
- 5 Initialism of scientific wild-ass guess; also speculative/sophisticated/stupid/some wild-ass guess Used humorously to indicate that an estimate was more of a guess than the result of any stringent data analysis. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, slang, vulgar
"Near-synonyms: see Thesaurus:supposition"
Show 12 more definitions
- 6 Alternative form of swag (handouts, freebies) alt-of, alternative, nonstandard, uncountable
- 7 a bundle containing the personal belongings of a swagman wordnet
- 8 Something that droops like a swag.
"Detective Inspector Douglas Browne, the flesh of whose cheeks hung in swags, had the friendly aspect of a large brown-eyed dog."
- 9 Handouts, freebies, or giveaways, often distributed at conventions; merchandise. informal, uncountable
""Make sure to take some swag on your way out!" I called. He stooped a bit in mid-trot and snatched a small gold bag out of the basket at the door. The contents were mostly shit, a few drink tickets to the Well of Souls, VIP status at Convent, that sort of thing."
- 10 goods or money obtained illegally wordnet
- 11 A low point or depression in land; especially:; A place where water collects; a low, wet place where the land has settled.
"Whenever the muddy water would accumulate in the swag the water from the well in question would become muddy[…] After the water in the swag had all disappeared through the sink-hole the well water would again become clear."
- 12 The possessions of a bushman or itinerant worker, tied up in a blanket and carried over the shoulder, sometimes attached to a stick. Australia, countable, dated
"He tramped for years till the swag he bore seemed part of himself to him."
- 13 valuable goods wordnet
- 14 A low point or depression in land; especially:; A pass, gap or sag in a mountain ridge.
"[…] the Stoll household were hoeing corn high up on a bench or "swag" of the mountain facing the home, where there was newer and richer ground than in the abandoned fields in its rear."
- 15 A small single-person tent, usually foldable into an integral backpack. Australia, broadly, countable
- 16 A large quantity (of something). Australia, New-Zealand, countable
"New Zealand wasted a swag of chances to lose their opening women′s hockey World Cup match."
- 17 A shop and its goods; any quantity of goods. countable, obsolete, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To (cause to) sway. ambitransitive
"1790, William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, The Argument, p. 1, Hungry clouds swag on the deep"
- 2 To travel on foot carrying a swag (possessions tied in a blanket). Australia, ambitransitive
"He told me that times had been bad at Invercargill, and that he had started for fresh pastures, had worked his passage up as mate in a small craft from the south, and, arriving in Port Underwood, had swagged his calico tent over the hill, and was now living in it, pitched in the manuka scrub."
- 3 sway heavily or unsteadily wordnet
- 4 To droop; to sag. intransitive
"so laid, they are more apt in swagging down, to pierce with their points, then in the jacent Posture"
- 5 To transport stolen goods.
"Well, one night we were rather hard up and we wanted a good feed, so five or six of us set out, along with a great stout fellow, and we actually stole a whole sheep that was hanging at a butcher's door, and the big chap swagged it home."
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 walk as if unable to control one's movements wordnet
- 7 To decorate (something) with loops of draped fabric. transitive
"Dior wouldn’t be Dior without the swagged ball gown[…]."
- 8 To transport in the course of arrest.
"17 I was cooking crack, turned Abz' flat to a science lab 18, when my door got banged Like servery knows and throws them bags Two handcuffs on the hands on a circle van when I got swagged Seven day lost in cell, confinement, disobey lawful order"
- 9 droop, sink, or settle from or as if from pressure or loss of tautness wordnet
- 10 To install (a ceiling fan or light fixture) by means of a long cord running from the ceiling to an outlet, and suspended by hooks or similar. transitive
"Hooks come with screws for use in plaster or wood and toggles for use in wallboard. One hook should be sufficient to swag a lamp from a ceiling outlet."
Proper Noun
- 1 Initialism of Special Warfare Action Group. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
Antonyms
Example
"The reporter's luggage was filled with branded swag from the promotional event."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "swag"?
Common synonyms include: booty, loot, plunder, angularity, arch, ascend.
How do you use "swag" in a sentence?
The reporter's luggage was filled with branded swag from the promotional event.
How do you pronounce "swag"?
Pronounced /swæɡ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English *swaggen, swagen, swoggen, probably from Old Norse sveggja (“to swing, sway”), from Proto-Germanic *swinganą (“to swing”). Compare dialectal Norwegian svaga (“to sway, swing, stagger”).
Etymology 2
Clipping of swagger. A common folk etymology is that the word derives from an acronym for "she wants a gentleman", "secretly we are gay" or other phrases.
Etymology 3
From 18th c. British thieves' slang, from the noun use of Etymology 1 above, "a swaying, an uneven motion." A folk etymology, particularly for the handouts definition, is “stuff we all get”.
Etymology 4
Acronym of various terms.
Etymology 5
From swag, an English slang word, in the mistaken belief that it originated as an acronym ("stuff we all get" or similar). For the true origin of the word, see swag.