Swoose

name, noun, slang

name, noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An animal cross between a swan and a goose, especially one produced from a male swan and a female goose. informal

    "A bird prodigy of evil and hybrid character is the despair of a Norfolk farmer. It rejoices in the name of the “swoose”, a portmanteau word indicating its origin, for its father was a swan and its mother a goose. This ill-assorted pair had three children — three “sweese”."

  2. 2
    A person or thing sharing the characteristics of two otherwise separate groups; a hybrid (also see Swoose) informal

    "The associate in arts or A.A. degree, another "swoose," has quickly established itself as the community college degree in a degree-obsessed nation."

  3. 3
    A stupid person. slang

    "Much public interest is evinced in these queer birds and nowadays when an ill-tempered husband rouses his wife to the point of retaliation, she gives vent to her feelings in the culminating insult: “You swoose!”"

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A specific B-17 bomber plane used extensively in World War Two. historical

    "The Swoose was so named because it contained so many scavenged parts that it was half swan and half goose or a “Swoose”."

Example

More examples

"A bird prodigy of evil and hybrid character is the despair of a Norfolk farmer. It rejoices in the name of the “swoose”, a portmanteau word indicating its origin, for its father was a swan and its mother a goose. This ill-assorted pair had three children — three “sweese”."

Etymology

Etymology 1

Blend of swan + goose.

Etymology 2

Blend of swan + goose (from a song about a bird that was half swan, half goose) because it had another aircraft's tail grafted onto it.

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.