American English

Definition of swing verb from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary



    Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they swing
    he / she / it swings
    past simple swung
    -ing form swinging
    jump to other results
    hang and move
  1. 1[intransitive, transitive] to move backward or forward or from side to side while hanging from a fixed point; to make something do this His arms swung as he walked. As he pushed her, she swung higher and higher (= while sitting on a swing). swing from something A set of keys swung from her belt. swing something He sat on the stool, swinging his legs.
  2. 2[intransitive, transitive] to move from one place to another by holding something that is fixed and pulling yourself along, up, etc. + adv./prep. The gunshot sent monkeys swinging away through the trees. swing yourself + adv./prep. He swung himself out of the car.
  3. move in curve
  4. 3 [intransitive, transitive] to move or make something move with a wide, curved movement + adv./prep. A line of cars swung out of the White House driveway. swing something + adv./prep. He swung his legs over the side of the bed. + adj. The door swung open. swing something + adj. She swung the door open.
  5. turn quickly
  6. 4[intransitive, transitive] to turn or change direction suddenly; to make something do this + adv./prep. She swung back to face him. The bus swung sharply to the left. swing something + adv./prep. He swung the camera around to face the opposite direction.
  7. try to hit
  8. 5[intransitive, transitive] to try to hit someone or something swing at somebody/something She swung at me with the iron bar. swing something (at somebody/something) He swung another punch in my direction.
  9. change opinion/mood
  10. 6 [intransitive, transitive] to change or make someone or something change from one opinion, mood, etc. to another swing (from A) (to B) The state swung from Republican to Democrat in the last election. swing (between A and B) His emotions swung between fear and curiosity. The game could swing either way (= either side could win it). swing somebody/something (to something) I managed to swing them around to my point of view.
  11. do/get something
  12. 7 [transitive] (informal) to succeed in getting or achieving something, sometimes in a slightly dishonest way swing something We're trying to swing it so that we can travel on the same flight.
  13. of music
  14. 8[intransitive] to have a strong rhythm
  15. of party
  16. 9[intransitive] (informal) if a party, etc. is swinging, there are a lot of people there having a good time
  17. Idioms
    kick/move/swing into high gear
    jump to other results
    to become more intense The campaign season for this year’s elections doesn’t really kick into high gear until June.
    no room to swing a cat (informal)
    jump to other results
    when someone says there's no room to swing a cat, they mean that a room is very small and that there is not enough space
    swing the balance
    jump to other results
    = tip
    swing for the fences
    jump to other results
    to really try to achieve something great, even when it is not reasonable to expect to be so successful entrepreneurs who think big and swing for the fences Investors need to manage risk and not swing for the fences.
    swing into action
    jump to other results
    to start doing something quickly and with a lot of energy The ambulance crew swung into action to resuscitate the patient. The rescue operation swung into action immediately.
    Phrasal Verbsswing by
See the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary entry: swing