swoop

Meaning

Verb

1. (intransitive) To fly or glide downwards suddenly; to plunge (in the air) or nosedive.
2. (intransitive) To move swiftly, as if with a sweeping movement, especially to attack something.
3. (transitive) To fall on at once and seize; to catch while on the wing.
4. (transitive) To seize; to catch up; to take with a sweep.
5. (intransitive) To pass with pomp; to sweep.
6. (British, slang) To search the ground for discarded cigarette butts that can be made into new cigarettes.

Noun

1. An instance, or the act of suddenly plunging downward.
2. A sudden act of seizing.
3. A quick passage from one note to the next.

Synonyms

pounce

raid

snatch

dive

stoop

snap

charge

nose dive

pounce on

rush

seize

lunge

nosedive

round-up

descend

catch

dragnet

swoop up

hold

slide

cordon

plunge

strike

sudden attack

attack

👊

dash

💨

assault

grab

onrush

onset

onslaught

plummet

plunder

plunk

push back

rapine

ravishment

regurgitate

robbery

rollback

rove

sag

sally

seizure

shot

sink

souse

strafe

swoon

swooping

Translations

rafle

abalanzarse

fondre sur

Razzia

descente

Sturzflug

abatirse

neerstrijken

descenso súbito

stürzen

s’abattre sur

neerschieten

schnappen

attacco

👊

precipitación

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈswuːp/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: swopen

Inherited from Old English: swāpan

In summary

From Middle English swopen, from Old English swāpan (“to sweep”). Doublet of swaip. See also sweep, which was probably the basis for analogical restoration of /w/ in this word.