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Swipe

//swaɪp// noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A quick grab, bat, or other motion with the hand or paw; a sweep. countable
  2. 2
    a sweeping stroke or blow wordnet
  3. 3
    A strong blow given with a sweeping motion, as with a bat or club. countable
  4. 4
    An act of interacting with a touch screen by drawing the finger rapidly across it. countable

    "Some New Yorkers are moving beyond the swipe to venture into flirtatious panel discussions and speed dating sessions."

  5. 5
    An act of passing a swipecard through a card reader. countable

    "Owning a car in New York City is seen as a liability by many, especially when a quick Uber ride or the swipe of a MetroCard can easily get you where you need to go."

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  1. 6
    A rough guess; an estimate or swag. countable, informal

    "Take a swipe at the answer, even if you're not sure."

  2. 7
    An attack, insult or critical remark. countable, informal

    "The politician took a swipe at his opponents."

  3. 8
    Poor, weak beer or other inferior alcoholic beverage; rotgut. uncountable

    "Woozy with swipe was the only way I could stay down with patience for work."

Verb
  1. 1
    To grab or bat quickly. intransitive

    "The cat swiped at the shoelace."

  2. 2
    strike with a swiping motion wordnet
  3. 3
    To strike with a strong blow in a sweeping motion. transitive
  4. 4
    make off with belongings of others wordnet
  5. 5
    To scan or register by sliding (a swipecard etc.) through a reader. transitive

    "He swiped his card at the door."

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  1. 6
    To interact with a touch screen by drawing one's finger rapidly across it. intransitive, transitive

    "Swipe left to hide the toolbar."

  2. 7
    To swipe right on (someone) on a dating application. informal, transitive

    "Zac Efron needs a date. […] But would the actor resort to apps to find a partner? Joking, he said, “Amazingly, when I signed up for Tinder, nobody swiped me! They thought it was fake … That never happened.”"

  3. 8
    To steal or snatch. informal, transitive

    "Hey! Who swiped my lunch?"

  4. 9
    To drink. obsolete, slang

Etymology

Etymology 1

From earlier swip (with a short vowel), from Middle English swippen, swipen (“to move violently”), from Old English swipian, sweopian, swippan (“to scourge, strike, beat, lash”), from Proto-West Germanic *swippjan, *swipōn, *swipēn, from Proto-Germanic *swipōną, *swipjaną, *swipāną (“to move”), from Proto-Indo-European *sweyb- (“to bend, turn, swerve, sway, swing, sweep”). Cognate with German schwippen (“to whip”), Danish svippe (“to smack; crack a whip”), Icelandic svipa (“to whip; move swiftly”). Related to sweep, swoop.

Etymology 2

From earlier swip (with a short vowel), from Middle English swippen, swipen (“to move violently”), from Old English swipian, sweopian, swippan (“to scourge, strike, beat, lash”), from Proto-West Germanic *swippjan, *swipōn, *swipēn, from Proto-Germanic *swipōną, *swipjaną, *swipāną (“to move”), from Proto-Indo-European *sweyb- (“to bend, turn, swerve, sway, swing, sweep”). Cognate with German schwippen (“to whip”), Danish svippe (“to smack; crack a whip”), Icelandic svipa (“to whip; move swiftly”). Related to sweep, swoop.

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