swing (n.)

  1. a state of steady vigorous action that is characteristic of an activity; the party went with a swing; it took time to get into the swing of things'

  2. mechanical device used as a plaything to support someone swinging back and forth

  3. a sweeping blow or stroke; he took a wild swing at my head'

  4. changing location by moving back and forth

    [ Syn: swinging , vacillation ]

  5. a style of jazz played by big bands popular in the 1930s; flowing rhythms but less complex than later styles of jazz

    [ Syn: swing music , jive ]

  6. a jaunty rhythm in music

    [ Syn: lilt ]

  7. the act of swinging a golf club at a golf ball and (usually) hitting it

    [ Syn: golf stroke , golf shot ]

  8. in baseball; a batters attempt to hit a pitched ball; he took a vicious cut at the ball

    [ Syn: baseball swing , cut ]

  9. a square dance figure; a pair of dancers join hands and dance around a point between them

    swing (v.)

  1. move in a curve or arc, usually with the intent of hitting; He swung his left fist; swing a bat'

  2. have a certain musical rhythm; The music has to swing'

  3. be a social swinger; socialize a lot

    [ Syn: get around ]

  4. play with a subtle and intuitively felt sense of rhythm

  5. engage freely in promiscuous sex, often with the husband or wife of one's friends; There were many swinging couples in the 1960's'

  6. move or walk in a swinging or swaying manner; He swung back

    [ Syn: sway ]

  7. change direction with a swinging motion; turn; swing back; swing forward'

  8. influence decisively; This action swung many votes over to his side

    [ Syn: swing over ]

  9. make a big sweeping gesture or movement

    [ Syn: sweep , swing out ]

  10. hang freely; the ornaments dangled from the tree; The light dropped from the ceiling

    [ Syn: dangle , drop ]

  11. hit or aim at with a sweeping arm movement; The soccer player began to swing at the referee'

  12. alternate dramatically between high and low values; his mood swings; the market is swinging up and down'

  13. live in a lively, modern, and relaxed style; The Woodstock generation attempted to swing freely'

The dictionary is based on the WordNet Electronic Lexical Database.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2011 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.