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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

swap en · VERB · etymology 1

Pronunciation

  • /ˈswɒp/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • (UK) audio
  • /ˈswɑp/ (General-American)
  • (US) audio

Etymology

From Middle English swappen (“to swap”), originally meaning "to hurl" or "to strike", the word alludes to striking hands together when making an exchange; probably from Old English *swappian, a secondary form of Old English swāpan (“to swoop”). Cognate with German schwappen (“to slosh, slop”). Compare also Middle English swippen (“to strike, hit”), from Old English swipian (“to scourge, strike, beat, lash”), Old Norse svipa (“to swoop, flash, whip, look after, look around”). More at swipe.

Meanings

  1. (transitive) To exchange or give (something) in an non-normal exchange (for something else).
    • The Shah wanted to swap oil for more arms. 2011, Andrew Scott Cooper, The Oil Kings: How the U.S., Iran, and Saudi Arabia Changed the Balance of Power in the Middle East, page 253:
    • In an effort to provide more permanent accommodations, employers may offer employees the opportunity either to swap jobs with a colleague or to transfer to a new position. 1998, Michael Wolf with Bruce Friedman and Daniel Sutherland, Religion in the workplace, page 98:
    • Chief watched these goings-on without pleasure, and waved them off in disgust when the smarmiest of the two suggested he might wish to swap that elk's tooth for this jug of fine rye whiskey. 2007, Lloyd Zimpel, A Season of Fire and Ice:
  2. (obsolete, transitive) To hit, to strike.
    • And he whipped his sword out of its scabbard, and swapped off the pudding from the black knight's nose. Unfortunately (for him) he swapped off a good bit of the nose, too. 1954, Edward Eager, Half Magic:
    • "Maybe Apes will grow honest, Sister," said Edmund. "But, by the Lion, if he breaks it again, it may be in such time and place that any of us could swap off his head in clean battle." 1954, C. S. Lewis, The Horse and His Boy:
  3. (obsolete, transitive) To beat the air, or ply the wings, with a sweeping motion or noise; to flap.
  4. (intransitive, obsolete) To descend or fall; to rush hastily or violently.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
swapping Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
swaps Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
swop alternative lexicographic
swapped Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
swapped Tense=Past lexicographic

Deriveds

swap spit · unswapped · swap places · swapper · toswap · face-swap · swap over · swap horses in midstream · swappable · outswap

Hyponyms

hot-swap (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · swap in (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · swap out (exchange or give (something) in exchange for)

Synonyms

flap (beat the air) · zoom · bang (hit, strike) · exchange · switch · switch · tap · trade · interchange (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · speed · fly (rush hastily) · knock

Translations (62)

es canjear (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · ko 교환하다 (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · tr değiştirmek (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · sv byta (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · ar مُبَادَلَة (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · lv mainīt (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · it permutare (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · hu elcserél (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · tr takas etmek (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · ca bescanviar (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · nl wisselen (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · cy ymgyfnewid (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · el ανταλλάσσω (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · es permutar (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · bg разменям (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · cmn 交換 /交换 (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · mi kurutete (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · hu kicserél (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · cs vyměnit (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · mi whakawhitiwhiti (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · fr permuter (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · nrf trotchi (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · ru обме́ниваться (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · af ruil (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · it scambiare (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · ja 交換する (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · ja 取り替える (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · it commutare (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · cmn 調換 /调换 (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · nl ruilen (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · hu megcserél (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · mi whakawhiti (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · th แลกเปลี่ยน (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · de tauschen (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · pt intercambiar (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · ca baratar (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · tl magbaligyaan (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · mt partat (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · toi cincana (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · pt trocar (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · fi vaihtaa (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · cs prohodit (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · ru обменя́ться (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · ru махну́ться (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · cmn 對調 /对调 (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · vi giao hoán (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · hu cserél (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · es cambalachear (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · de austauschen (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · ka გაცვლა (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · ru поменя́ться (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · kw keschanjya (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · de wechseln (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · fi tehdä vaihtokauppa (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · pl zamienić (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · ru меня́ться (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · km ប្តូរ (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · tl magpalitan (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · it barattare (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · pl zamieniać (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · oc escambiar (exchange or give (something) in exchange for) · de vertauschen (exchange or give (something) in exchange for)

swap en · NOUN · etymology 2

Pronunciation

  • /ˈswɒp/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • (UK) audio
  • /ˈswɑp/ (General-American)
  • (US) audio

Etymology

From the verb swap. First attested in 1620.

Meanings

  1. An exchange of two comparable things.
    • I e’en changed it, as occasion served, with the skippers o’ Dutch luggers and French vessels, for gin and brandy[…] a gude swap too, between what cheereth the soul of man and that which dingeth it clean out of his body 1819, Sir Walter Scott, Tales of My Landlord, The Bride of Lammermoor:
    • Flores' nephews were each sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment in 2017 for conspiring to import cocaine, but they were released in 2022 by the Biden Administration as part of a prisoner swap with Venezuela. 2026 January 5, Callum Sutherland, “Who Is Cilia Flores? What to Know About Maduro’s Wife Amid Fall of Venezuela's First Couple”, in TIME, archived from the original on 06 Jan 2026:
  2. A financial derivative in which two parties agree to exchange one stream of non-normal cashflow against another stream.
  3. (informal, uncountable) Space available in a swap file for use as auxiliary memory.
    • How much swap do you need?
  4. (qualifier:Cambridge University slang) A social meal at a restaurant between two university societies, usually involving drinking and banter; commonly associated with fining and pennying; equivalent to a crewdate at Oxford University.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
swaps Number=Plur lexicographic
swop alternative lexicographic

Deriveds

hot swap · SIM swap · swap chain · soft swap · swap shop · swappiness · Yankee swap · swapbody · swap partition · swapmeet · formal swap · Tesla-swap · swap line · genderswap · swapling · hard swap · swapsies · swap file · swaporama · cookie swap · blue chip swap · K-swap · swaplist · bookswap · full swap · mixed swap · swap meet · face-swap · swaplet · prisoner swap · mindswap · interest rate swap · swapportunity · swaption · bodyswap · palette swap · face swap · LS-swap · tax swap · cum swap · swap space · language swap · cumswap · swap box · swap body

Hyponyms

credit default swap (financial derivative) · total return swap (financial derivative)

Synonyms

barter (an exchange of things) · trade (an exchange of things) · quid pro quo (an exchange of things)

Translations (59)

de Tausch (exchange) · it permuta (exchange) · fr échange (exchange) · cmn 掉期 (finance: derivative) · af ruil (exchange) · el ανταλλαγή (exchange) · cmn 對調 /对调 (exchange) · it scambio (finance: derivative) · es canje (exchange) · cs swap (finance: derivative) · es permutación (exchange) · ru ме́на (exchange) · bg размяна (exchange) · mi kurutete (exchange) · ja スワップ (finance: derivative) · es concambio (exchange) · hy փոխանակում (exchange) · es cambalache (exchange) · pl swap (exchange) · es permuta (financiera) (finance: derivative) · ko 교환 (exchange) · ru обме́н (exchange) · pt troca (exchange) · es permuta (exchange) · ja 取り替え (exchange) · tl palitan (exchange) · ca barata (exchange) · de Tauschgeschäft (exchange) · tr takas (exchange) · tl baligyaan (exchange) · it baratto (exchange) · pt swap (finance: derivative) · cmn 調換 /调换 (exchange) · oc escambi (exchange) · lv maiņa (exchange) · cs výměna (exchange) · ca troc (exchange) · hu csere (exchange) · bg смяна (exchange) · fi swap (finance: derivative) · bg суа́п (finance: derivative) · ru своп (finance: derivative) · pl zamiana (exchange) · vi sự giao hoán (exchange) · mt bdil (exchange) · cmn 交換 /交换 (exchange) · pl swap (finance: derivative) · ja 交換 (exchange) · de Swap (finance: derivative) · ja スワップ (exchange) · mi whiti (exchange) · nl ruil (exchange) · fi vaihtokauppa (exchange) · es swap (finance: derivative) · fi vaihto (exchange) · it scambio (exchange) · it permuta (finance: derivative) · ca bescanvi (exchange) · fi vaihtosopimus (finance: derivative)

swap en · NOUN · etymology 3

Pronunciation

  • /ˈswɒp/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • (UK) audio
  • /ˈswɑp/ (General-American)
  • (US) audio

Etymology

From Middle English swap, swappe (“a blow, strike, lash from a whip”), from the verb (see Etymology 1 above).

Meanings

  1. (UK, countable, dialectal, obsolete, uncountable) A blow; a stroke.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
swop alternative lexicographic
swaps Number=Plur lexicographic