swipe

Meaning

Verb

1. (intransitive) To grab or bat quickly.
2. (transitive) To strike with a strong blow in a sweeping motion.
3. (transitive) To scan or register by sliding (a swipecard etc.) through a reader.
4. (intransitive, transitive) To interact with a touch screen by drawing one's finger rapidly across it.
5. (informal, transitive) To swipe right on (someone) on a dating application.
6. (informal, transitive) To steal or snatch.
7. (obsolete, slang) To drink.

Noun

1. (countable) A quick grab, bat, or other motion with the hand or paw; a sweep.
2. (countable) A strong blow given with a sweeping motion, as with a bat or club.
3. (countable) An act of interacting with a touch screen by drawing the finger rapidly across it.
4. (countable) An act of passing a swipecard through a card reader.
5. (countable, informal) A rough guess; an estimate or swag.
6. (countable, informal) An attack, insult or critical remark.
7. (uncountable) Poor, weak beer or other inferior alcoholic beverage; rotgut.

Synonyms

pinch

pilfer

filch

steal

hit

purloin

smack

nick

lift

blow

slap

nobble

slog

snarf

snitch

strike

abstract

bang

cabbage

cop

👮

hook

🪝

punch

👊

snaffle

sneak

sock

swat

swig

swing

whack

crib

clobber

plunk

pommel

pucker

pummel

whomp

chop

rifle

rip

rob

scrounge

shirr

shoplift

bop

boom

💥

bonk

smash

smite

whop

biff

Translations

klauen

birlar

stibitzen

rubare

afanar

piquer

choricear

robar

jatten

fregare

slaan

piger

mausen

çilfisandin

voler

Pronounced as (IPA)

/swaɪp/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: swippen

Inherited from Old English: swipian

Cognate with German: schwippen

Cognate with Danish: svippe

Cognate with Icelandic: svipa

In summary

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.