swoop

Meaning

Verb

1. To fly or glide downwards suddenly; to plunge (in the air) or nosedive.
2. To move swiftly, as if with a sweeping movement, especially to attack something.
3. To fall on at once and seize; to catch while on the wing.
4. To seize; to catch up; to take with a sweep.
5. To pass with pomp; to sweep.
6. (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

usurp

wander

whang

wrest

abduct

lace into

lash out

shower down

aggression

leap at

throw oneself on

power dive

sudden descent

straight thrust

zoom

aggress

assail

barge

bear down

buck

burst

bust

crash

depredation

descent

drop

fall

fall down

fly by

forge

grapnel

grapple

grasp

hijack

hit

incursion

inroad

invade

invasion

lance

offence

offense

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.