What does "swagger" mean?
Confidence, pride.
Swagger
/ˈswæɡ.ɚ/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Confidence, pride.
- Grammar: swagger is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: strut, amble, arrogance, barge.
- Useful contrasts: creep, diffidence, downplay.
- Usage evidence: Who said you can swagger around like that just because you're one year ahead of me?
How to use "swagger"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "swagger" 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 "swagger" 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 "swagger" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "swagger" 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 "swagger" is acting as adj, 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 "strut" 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.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "swagger", 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 Confidence, pride. countable, uncountable
"After spending so much of the season looking upwards, the swashbuckling style and swagger of early season Spurs was replaced by uncertainty and frustration against a Norwich side who had the quality and verve to take advantage"
- 2 Someone carrying a swag; a swagman. Australia, New-Zealand, historical
"There were now more swaggers passing down Ferry Street and more coming to ask for food […]."
- 3 a proud stiff pompous gait wordnet
- 4 A bold or arrogant strut. countable, uncountable
"He steered with no end of a swagger while you were by; but if he lost sight of you, he became instantly the prey of an abject funk, and would let that cripple of a steamboat get the upper hand of him in a minute."
- 5 an itinerant Australian laborer who carries their personal belongings in a bundle as they travels around in search of work wordnet
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- 6 A prideful boasting or bragging. countable, uncountable
"Too often we honor swagger and bluster and the wielders of force; too often we excuse those who are willing to build their lives on the shattered dreams of others."
Verb
- 1 To behave (especially to walk or carry oneself) in a pompous, superior manner.
"What hempen home-ſpuns haue we ſwaggering here, / So neere the Cradle of the Faierie Queene?"
- 2 act in an arrogant, overly self-assured, or conceited manner wordnet
- 3 To boast or brag noisily; to bluster; to bully.
"To be great is not […] to swagger at our footmen."
- 4 discourage or frighten with threats or a domineering manner; intimidate wordnet
- 5 To walk with a swaying motion.
"It's the injustice… he is so unjust— whiskey-blind, swaggering home at five."
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- 6 to walk with a lofty proud gait, often in an attempt to impress others wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Fashionable; trendy. archaic, slang
"It is to be a very swagger affair, with notables from every part of Europe, and they seem determined that no one connected with a newspaper shall be admitted."
Adjective
- 1 (British informal) very chic wordnet
Antonyms
Example
"Who said you can swagger around like that just because you're one year ahead of me?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "swagger"?
Common synonyms include: strut, amble, arrogance, barge, bearing, bluff.
How do you use "swagger" in a sentence?
Who said you can swagger around like that just because you're one year ahead of me?
How do you pronounce "swagger"?
Pronounced /ˈswæɡ.ɚ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
A frequentative form of swag (“to sway”), first attested in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595), see quotations.
Etymology 2
From swag + -er.