swing definition | Dictionary.com

swing

1 [swing]

,verb, swung, swing⋅ing, noun, adjective

–verb (used with object)

1.	to cause to move to and fro, sway, or oscillate, as something suspended from above: to swing one's arms in walking.

2.	to cause to move in alternate directions or in either direction around a fixed point, on an axis, or on a line of support, as a door on hinges.

3.	to move (the hand or something held) with an oscillating or rotary movement: to swing one's fists; to swing a club around one's head.

4.	Aeronautics. to pull or turn (a propeller) by hand, esp. in order to start the engine.

5.	to turn in a new direction in a curve, as if around a central point: to swing the car into the driveway.

6.	to suspend so as to hang freely, as a hammock or a door.

7.	Informal. to influence or win over; manage or arrange as desired: to swing votes; to swing a business deal.

8.	to direct, change, or shift (one's interest, opinion, support, etc.).

9.	to turn (a ship or aircraft) to various headings in order to check compass deviation.

–verb (used without object)

10.	to move or sway to and fro, as a pendulum or other suspended object.

11.	to move to and fro in a swing, as for recreation.

12.	to move in alternate directions or in either direction around a point, an axis, or a line of support, as a gate on its hinges.

13.	to move in a curve, as around a corner or central point: The highway swings to the east.

14.	to move with a free, swaying motion, as soldiers on the march.

15.	to be suspended so as to hang freely, as a bell or hammock.

16.	to move by grasping a support with the hands and drawing up the arms or using the momentum of the swaying body: a monkey swinging through trees.

17.	to change or shift one's attention, interest, opinion, condition, etc.: He swung from mere indifference to outright scorn.

18.	to hit at someone or something, with the hand or something grasped in the hand: The batter swung and struck out.

19.

Slang.

a.	to be characterized by a modern, lively atmosphere: Las Vegas swings all year.

b.	to be stylish, trendy, hip, etc., esp. in pursuing enjoyment.

c.	to engage uninhibitedly in sexual activity.

d.	(of married couples) to exchange partners for sexual activity.

20.	Informal. to suffer death by hanging: He'll swing for the crime.

–noun

21.	the act, manner, or progression of swinging; movement in alternate directions or in a particular direction.

22.	the amount or extent of such movement: to correct the swing of a pendulum.

23.	a curving movement or course.

24.	a moving of the body with a free, swaying motion, as in walking.

25.	a blow or stroke with the hand or an object grasped in the hands: His swing drove the ball over the fence.

26.	a change or shift in attitude, opinion, behavior, etc.

27.	a steady, marked rhythm or movement, as of verse or music.

28.	a regular upward or downward movement in the price of a commodity or of a security, or in any business activity.

29.

Informal.

a.	a work period coming between the regular day and night shifts.

b.	a change by a group of workers from working one shift to working another.

30.	freedom of action: to have free swing in carrying out a project.

31.	active operation; progression: to get into the swing of things.

32.	something that is swung or that swings.

33.	a seat suspended from above by means of a loop of rope or between ropes or rods, on which one may sit and swing to and fro for recreation.

34.	the maximum diameter of the work machinable in a certain lathe or other machine tool.

–adjective

35.	of or pertaining to a swing.

36.	capable of determining the outcome, as of an election; deciding: the swing vote.

37.	designed or constructed to permit swinging or hanging.

38.	acting to relieve other workers when needed, as at night.

—Idioms

39.	in full swing, operating at the highest speed or level of activity; in full operation: Automobile production is in full swing.

40.	swing round the circle, to tour an area on a political campaign.

41.	take a swing at, to strike or attempt to strike with the fist: to take a swing at a rude waiter.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME swingen (v.), OE swingan; c. G schwingen

Related forms:

swing⋅a⋅ble, adjective

Synonyms:
10. Swing, sway, oscillate, rock suggest a movement back and forth. Swing expresses the comparatively regular motion to and fro of a body supported from the end or ends, esp. from above: A lamp swings from the ceiling. To sway is to swing gently and is used esp. of fixed objects or of persons: Young oaks sway in the breeze. Oscillate refers to the smooth, regular, alternating movement of a body within certain limits between two fixed points. Rock indicates the slow and regular movement back and forth of a body, as on curved supports: A cradle rocks. 21. sway, vibration, oscillation. 22. range, scope, sweep, play.

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swing

2 [swing]

,noun, adjective, verb, swung, swing⋅ing.

–noun

1.	Also called Big Band music, swing music. a style of jazz, popular esp. in the 1930s and often arranged for a large dance band, marked by a smoother beat and more flowing phrasing than Dixieland and having less complex harmonies and rhythms than modern jazz.

2.	the rhythmic element that excites dancers and listeners to move in time to jazz music.

–adjective

3.	of, pertaining to, or characteristic of swing: a swing record.

–verb (used with object)

4.	to play (music) in the style of swing.

Origin:
special use of swing ¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source

Link To swing

swing (swĭng)

v. swung (swŭng), swing·ing, swings

v. intr.

To move back and forth suspended or as if suspended from above.
To hit at something with a sweeping motion of the arm: swung at the ball.
To move laterally or in a curve: The car swung over to the curb.
To turn in place on or as if on a hinge or pivot.
To move along with an easy, swaying gait: swinging down the road.
To propel oneself from one place or position to another by grasping a fixed support: swinging through the trees.
To ride on a swing.
To shift from one attitude, interest, condition, or emotion to another; vacillate.
Slang To be put to death by hanging.
Music
1. To have a subtle, intuitively felt rhythm or sense of rhythm.
2. To play with a subtle, intuitively felt sense of rhythm.
3. To be lively, trendy, and exciting.
4. To engage freely in promiscuous sex.
5. To exchange sex partners. Used especially of married couples.
6. To have a sexual orientation toward one or both sexes.
Slang
1. To be lively, trendy, and exciting.
2. To engage freely in promiscuous sex.
3. To exchange sex partners. Used especially of married couples.
4. To have a sexual orientation toward one or both sexes.

v. tr.

To cause to move back and forth, as on a swing.
To cause to move in a broad arc or curve: swing a bat; swung the car over.
1. To cause to move with a sweeping motion: swinging his arms.
2. To lift and convey with a sweeping motion: swung the cargo onto the deck.
3. To suspend on hinges: swing a shutter.
4. To cause to turn on hinges: swung the door shut.
5. To manage or arrange successfully: swing a deal.
6. To bring around to the desired result: swing an election.
To suspend so as to sway or turn freely: swung a hammock between two trees.
1. To suspend on hinges: swing a shutter.
2. To cause to turn on hinges: swung the door shut.
3. To manage or arrange successfully: swing a deal.
4. To bring around to the desired result: swing an election.
To cause to shift from one attitude, position, opinion, or condition to another.
Informal
1. To manage or arrange successfully: swing a deal.
2. To bring around to the desired result: swing an election.
Music To play (music) with a subtle, intuitively felt sense of rhythm.

The act or an instance of swinging; movement back and forth or in one particular direction.
The sweep or scope of something that swings: The pendulum's swing is 12 inches.
A blow or stroke executed with a sweeping motion of the arm.
The manner in which one swings something, such as a bat or golf club.
A shift from one attitude, position, or condition to another: a swing to conservatism.
Freedom of action: The children have free swing in deciding what color to paint their room.
1. A swaying, graceful motion: has a swing to her walk.
2. A sweep back and forth: the swing of a bird across the sky.
3. A type of popular dance music developed about 1935 and based on jazz but employing a larger band, less improvisation, and simpler harmonic and rhythmic patterns.
4. A ballroom dance performed to this music.
5. A subtle, intuitively felt rhythmic quality or sense of rhythm.
A course or tour that returns to the starting point: a swing across the state while campaigning.
A seat suspended from above, as by ropes, on which one can ride back and forth for recreation.
The normal rhythm of life or pace of activities: back in the swing.
A steady, vigorous rhythm or movement, as in verse.
A regular movement up or down, as in stock prices.
Music
1. A type of popular dance music developed about 1935 and based on jazz but employing a larger band, less improvisation, and simpler harmonic and rhythmic patterns.
2. A ballroom dance performed to this music.
3. A subtle, intuitively felt rhythmic quality or sense of rhythm.

adj.

Music Relating to or performing swing: a swing band.
Determining an outcome; decisive: the swing vote.

[Middle English swingen, to beat, brandish, from Old English swingan, to flog, strike, swing.]
swing'y adj.

Synonyms: These verbs mean to move back and forth, up and down, or to and fro: Swing usually applies to arclike movement of something attached at one extremity and free at the other: The ship's lanterns swung violently in the raging storm.
Oscillate literally refers to a steady back-and-forth motion, as that of a pendulum; figuratively, it denotes vacillation, as between conflicting purposes: "a king ... oscillating between fear of Rome and desire of independence" (Walter Besant).
Sway suggests the movement of something unsteady, light, or flexible: "thousands of the little yellow blossoms all swaying to the light wind" (W.H. Hudson).
To rock is to swing gently or rhythmically or sway or tilt violently: "The ruins of the ancient church seemed actually to rock and threaten to fall" (Sir Walter Scott).
Vibrate implies quick periodic oscillations; it can also suggest trembling, pulsating, or quivering: "Music, when soft voices die,/Vibrates in the memory" (Percy Bysshe Shelley).
Fluctuate implies fairly constant alternating change: "Prices fluctuated violently from the irregularity of the crops" (Lesley B. Simpson).
Undulate refers to smooth wavelike movement: "gleaming seaweed that curls and undulates with the tide" (Willa Cather).
Waver suggests unsteady, uncertain movement: A police officer stopped the driver who was wavering from lane to lane.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Swing

Swing\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Swung; Archaic imp. Swang; p. pr. & vb. n. Swinging.] [OE. swingen, AS. swingan to scourge, to fly, to flutter; akin to G. schwingen to winnow, to swingle, oscillate, sich schwingen to leap, to soar, OHG. swingan to throw, to scourge, to soar, Sw. svinga to swing, to whirl, Dan. svinge. Cf. Swagger, Sway, Swinge, Swink.]

1. To move to and fro, as a body suspended in the air; to wave; to vibrate; to oscillate.

I tried if a pendulum would swing faster, or continue swinging longer, in case of exsuction of the air. --Boyle.

2. To sway or move from one side or direction to another; as, the door swung open.

3. To use a swing; as, a boy swings for exercise or pleasure. See Swing, n., 3.

4. (Naut.) To turn round by action of wind or tide when at anchor; as, a ship swings with the tide.

5. To be hanged. [Colloq.] --D. Webster.

To swing round the circle, to make a complete circuit. [Colloq.]

He had swung round the circle of theories and systems in which his age abounded, without finding relief. --A. V. G. Allen.

Swing

Swing\, v. t. 1. To cause to swing or vibrate; to cause to move backward and forward, or from one side to the other.

He swings his tail, and swiftly turns his round. --Dryden.

They get on ropes, as you must have seen the children, and are swung by their men visitants. --Spectator.

2. To give a circular movement to; to whirl; to brandish; as, to swing a sword; to swing a club; hence, colloquially, to manage; as, to swing a business.

3. (Mach.) To admit or turn (anything) for the purpose of shaping it; -- said of a lathe; as, the lathe can swing a pulley of 12 inches diameter.

To swing a door, gate, etc. (Carp.), to put it on hinges so that it can swing or turn.

Swing

Swing\, n. 1. The act of swinging; a waving, oscillating, or vibratory motion of a hanging or pivoted object; oscillation; as, the swing of a pendulum.

2. Swaying motion from one side or direction to the other; as, some men walk with a swing.

3. A line, cord, or other thing suspended and hanging loose, upon which anything may swing; especially, an apparatus for recreation by swinging, commonly consisting of a rope, the two ends of which are attached overhead, as to the bough of a tree, a seat being placed in the loop at the bottom; also, any contrivance by which a similar motion is produced for amusement or exercise.

4. Influence of power of a body put in swaying motion.

The ram that batters down the wall, For the great swing and rudeness of his poise, They place before his hand that made the engine. --Shak.

5. Capacity of a turning lathe, as determined by the diameter of the largest object that can be turned in it.

6. Free course; unrestrained liberty or license; tendency. "Take thy swing." --Dryden.

To prevent anything which may prove an obstacle to the full swing of his genius. --Burke.

Full swing. See under Full.

Swing beam (Railway Mach.), a crosspiece sustaining the car body, and so suspended from the framing of a truck that it may have an independent lateral motion.

Swing bridge, a form of drawbridge which swings horizontally, as on a vertical pivot.

Swing plow, or Swing plough. (a) A plow without a fore wheel under the beam. (b) A reversible or sidehill plow.

Swing wheel. (a) The scape-wheel in a clock, which drives the pendulum. (b) The balance of a watch.

Language Translation for : swing

Spanish: balancearse; girar, doblar,

German: schwingen,

Japanese: 揺れる

More Translations »

swing

A kind of jazz generally played by a “Big Band” and characterized by a lively rhythm suitable for dancing. The bands of Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and Glenn Miller played swing.

swing (v.)

O.E. swingan "to rush, fling oneself," from P.Gmc. *swenganan (cf. O.S., O.H.G. swingan, O.Fris. swinga, Ger. schwingen "to swing, swingle, oscillate") denoting "violent circulatory motion." The meaning "move freely back and forth" is first recorded 1545. The noun meaning "a stroke with a weapon" is from 1375; sense of "an apparatus that swings" is first recorded 1687. Meaning "shift of public opinion" is from 1899. The meaning "variety of big dance-band music with a swinging rhythm" is first recorded 1933, though the sense has been traced back to 1888; its heyday was from mid-30s to mid-40s. Swinging "uninhibited" dates from 1958; and swinger "person who is lively in an unrestrained way" is from 1965. Both had various other slang senses traceable to 1590s. Swing shift first recorded 1941, typically 4 p.m. to midnight. Phrase in full swing "in total effect or operation" (1570) is probably from bell-ringing.

Swing programming
Java's graphical user interface (GUI) package that provides a large collection of widgets (buttons, labels, lists etc.) that behave similarly on different platforms. Swing features "pluggable look & feel", allowing the program to look like a Windows, Motif or Macintosh) application. It is implemented using the {Model View Controller (MVC) architecture and makes extensive use of nested "containers" to control the handling of events such as keystrokes.
(http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.3/docs/api/javax/swing/package-summary.html).
(2007-05-30)

swing

In addition to the idiom beginning with swing, also see get into the swing of things; in full swing; not enough room to swing a car.

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