What does "swash" mean?
The water that washes up on shore after an incoming wave has broken.
Swash
/swɒʃ/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The water that washes up on shore after an incoming wave has broken.
- Grammar: swash is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: aqueduct, arroyo, asperge, babble.
- Useful contrasts: calm, cower, cringe.
- Usage evidence: It is not the direct battering that breaks the dyke, but overtopping, when the flow of water sweeps away the inland face, so swash length is a vital thing to accommodate, and to do that you must make an estimate of the highest possible tides.
How to use "swash"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "swash" 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 "swash" 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 "swash" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "swash" 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.
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "swash" is acting as adj, noun, verb 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 "aqueduct" 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 "swash", 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 The water that washes up on shore after an incoming wave has broken. countable, uncountable
"It is not the direct battering that breaks the dyke, but overtopping, when the flow of water sweeps away the inland face, so swash length is a vital thing to accommodate, and to do that you must make an estimate of the highest possible tides."
- 2 the movement or sound of water wordnet
- 3 A narrow sound or channel of water lying within a sand bank, or between a sand bank and the shore, or a bar over which the sea washes. countable, uncountable
"According to what you say about the shells, there ought to be a thousand flamingos feeding in this very swash at this instant."
- 4 A wet splashing sound. countable, uncountable
"As a first warning the boiling liquid lifts the cover and washes over it with a noisy swash and clatter."
- 5 A smooth stroke; a swish. countable, uncountable
"Dip in and out quickly and with a swash three or four times. This serves to wash off the dust that has settled while the fruit is on the trays."
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 A swishing noise. countable, uncountable
"The swash of the whirling blades reminds me vaguely of the noise conifers make."
- 7 A long, protruding ornamental line or pen stroke found in some typefaces and styles of calligraphy. countable, uncountable
"Yet Svvaſh-Letters, […] ought to have the Upper Sholder of that Svvaſh Sculped dovvn ſtraight, viz. to a Right Angle, or Square vvith the Face; […]"
- 8 A streak or patch. countable, uncountable
"On impulse he took Sunset through Brentwood and saw Cape Jessamines flaring pink above green lawns and here and there a yellow swash of jonquils."
- 9 Liquid filth; wash; hog mash. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"And it setteth the soul at liberty, and maketh her free to follow the will of God and doth to the soul even as health doth unto the body; after that a man is pined and wasted away with a long soaking disease, the legs cannot bear him, he cannot lift up his hands to help himself, his taste is corrupt, sugar is bitter in his mouth, his stomach abhorreth [meat.] longing after slibbersause and swash, at which a whole stomach is ready to cast his gorge."
- 10 A blustering noise. countable, obsolete, uncountable
- 11 swaggering behaviour. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"Some of you are making a great swash in life and after awhile will die, leaving your families beggars, and will expect us ministers of the Gospel to come and lie about your excellencies; but we will not do it."
- 12 A swaggering fellow; a swasher. countable, obsolete, uncountable
- 13 An oval figure, whose mouldings are oblique to the axis of the work. countable, uncountable
"The lathe was, in process of time, adapted to the production of oval figures, twisted and swash-work, as it is called, and, lastly, of rose-engine work. The swash, or raking mouldings, were employed in the balusters of staircases and other ornaments at the period of the "Renaissance" in architecture, about the end of the sixteenth century, and, therefore, the swash-lathe assumes somewhat of the character of a manufacturing machine."
Verb
- 1 To swagger; to act with boldness or bluster (toward). ambitransitive
"He swashed out of the room, and presently we heard his angry voice berating his bearer."
- 2 act in an arrogant, overly self-assured, or conceited manner wordnet
- 3 To dash or flow noisily; to splash. ambitransitive
"How the sea rolls swashing ‘gainst the side! Stand by for reefing, hearties!"
- 4 show off wordnet
- 5 To swirl through liquid; to swish. ambitransitive
"The parts are swashed in the solution until they are clean and are then rinsed in cold running water."
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 dash a liquid upon or against wordnet
- 7 To wade forcefully through liquid. intransitive
"Kala Nag swashed out of the water, blew his trunk clear, and began another climb; but this time he was not alone, and he had not to make his path."
- 8 make violent, noisy movements wordnet
- 9 To swipe. ambitransitive
"'[…] ye ill-farren, useless bowdikite!' said she, as she swashed the dishclout about my lugs,"
- 10 To fall violently or noisily. intransitive
"The Archbyshop of Yorke[…]swasht him down, meaning to thrust himselfe in betwixt the Legate, and the Archbyshop of Canterbury."
- 11 To streak, to color in a swash.
"As the valleys darkened, the caps of the hills were swashed in variant hues."
Adjective
- 1 bold; dramatic.
"Very swash in camelly cashmere belted over shirt-tunic and pants in a neat, tiny print of cinnamon–navy–wine–beige crêpe de Chine;"
- 2 Having pronounced swashes.
"The French compositor took the greek capitals for latin ones and sought out his swashest type to set the handwritten letters,"
Example
"It is not the direct battering that breaks the dyke, but overtopping, when the flow of water sweeps away the inland face, so swash length is a vital thing to accommodate, and to do that you must make an estimate of the highest possible tides."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "swash"?
Common synonyms include: aqueduct, arroyo, asperge, babble, bed, bedew.
How do you use "swash" in a sentence?
It is not the direct battering that breaks the dyke, but overtopping, when the flow of water sweeps away the inland face, so swash length is a vital thing to accommodate, and to do that you must make an estimate of the highest possible tides.
How do you pronounce "swash"?
Pronounced /swɒʃ/.
Etymology
Scandinavian. Compare Swedish dialect svasska, Norwegian svakka, English dialect swack (“a blow”).