swoop

swoop
/swoohp/, v.i.
1. to sweep through the air, as a bird or a bat, esp. down upon prey.
2. to come down upon something in a sudden, swift attack (often fol. by down and on or upon): The army swooped down on the town.
v.t.
3. to take, lift, scoop up, or remove with or as with one sweeping motion (often fol. by up, away, or off): He swooped her up in his arms.
n.
4. an act or instance of swooping; a sudden, swift descent.
5. at or in one fell swoop, all at once or all together, as if by one blow: The quake flattened the houses at one fell swoop.
[1535-45; var. (with close o) of ME swopen, OE swapan to SWEEP1; c. G schweifen]
Syn. 4. dive, plunge, sweep, drop.

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  • Swoop — may mean:* Swoop (mascot), the mascot for the Philadelphia Eagles * Swoop (Transformer), several fictional characters in the Transformers series * A swoop bike * The Southwestern Ontario Organization of Parachutists * The red tailed hawk mascot… …   Wikipedia

  • swoop — ► VERB 1) move rapidly downwards through the air. 2) carry out a sudden raid. 3) (often swoop up) informal seize with a sweeping motion. ► NOUN ▪ an act of swooping. ● at (or in) one fell swoop Cf. ↑ …   English terms dictionary

  • Swoop — Swoop, n. A falling on and seizing, as the prey of a rapacious bird; the act of swooping. [1913 Webster] The eagle fell, . . . and carried away a whole litter of cubs at a swoop. L Estrange. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Swoop — Swoop, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Swooped}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Swooping}.] [OE. swopen, usually, to sweep, As. sw[=a]pan to sweep, to rush; akin to G. schweifen to rove, to ramble, to curve, OHG. sweifan to whirl, Icel. sveipa to sweep; also to AS.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Swoop — Swoop, v. i. 1. To descend with closed wings from a height upon prey, as a hawk; to stoop. [1913 Webster] 2. To pass with pomp; to sweep. [Obs.] Drayton. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • swoop — (v.) 1560s, to move or walk in a stately manner, apparently from a dialectal survival of O.E. swapan to sweep, brandish, dash, from P.Gmc. *swaipanan, from PIE root *swei to swing, bend, to turn. Meaning pounce upon with a sweeping movement first …   Etymology dictionary

  • swoop — swoop·er; swoop; …   English syllables

  • swoop — [v] descend quickly dive, fall, plummet, plunge, pounce, rush, slide, stoop, sweep; concepts 150,181 Ant. ascend …   New thesaurus

  • swoop — [swo͞op] vt. [ME swopen < OE swapan, to sweep along, rush, akin to Ger schweifen, ON sveipa: see SWIFT] to snatch or seize suddenly, with a sweeping movement: often with up, off, or away vi. to descend suddenly and swiftly, as a bird in… …   English World dictionary

  • Swoop — Este artículo o sección necesita referencias que aparezcan en una publicación acreditada, como revistas especializadas, monografías, prensa diaria o páginas de Internet fidedignas. Puedes añadirlas así o avisar a …   Wikipedia Español

  • swoop — swoop1 [swu:p] v [Date: 1500 1600; Origin: swope [i] to sweep (11 19 centuries), from Old English swapan; SWEEP1] 1.) if a bird or aircraft swoops, it moves suddenly down through the air, especially in order to attack something ▪ The eagle… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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