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to swat
01
to hit with a swift and forceful motion, often with a swinging action
Intransitive: to swat at a target
Grammatical Information
Composition
Simple
Action verb
Regular
Present tense
swat
3rd person singular
swats
Present participle
swatting
Past simple
swatted
Past participle
swatted
Examples
Startled by the surprise attack, he instinctively swatted at the wasp near his face.
02
to make a false emergency report so heavily armed police raid someone's home
Slang
What does "to swat" mean in slang?
The structure is a verb derived from "SWAT" (Special Weapons and Tactics), turning the name of a police unit into an action that describes a dangerous prank. It is used to describe making a false emergency report, such as a hostage situation or active shooter claim, so that heavily armed police raid an unsuspecting person's home. People typically swat others out of revenge during online gaming disputes or streamer harassment, often with life threatening consequences.
Examples
Someone swatted him after he livestreamed the game.
Swat
01
a sharp blow
Grammatical Information
Animacy status
Inanimate
Composition
Simple
Countable
Plural form
swats
Lexical Tree
swatter
swat
