swipe

[swahyp] noun, verb, swiped, swip·ing.
noun
1.
a strong, sweeping blow, as with a cricket bat or golf club.
2.
Informal. a swing of the arm in order to strike somebody; punch.
3.
a sideswipe.
4.
Informal. a critical or cutting remark.
5.
a leverlike device for raising or lowering a weight, especially a bucket in a well; sweep.
6.
Horse Racing. a person who rubs down horses in a stable; groom.
verb (used with object)
7.
to strike with a sweeping blow.
8.
Informal. to steal: He'll swipe anything that isn't nailed down.
9.
to slide (a magnetic card) quickly through an electronic device that reads data.
00:10
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to bark; yelp.
to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.
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verb (used without object)
10.
to make a sweeping stroke.
Origin:
1730–40; akin to sweep1; cognate with German schweifen

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
swipe (swaɪp) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—vb (when intr, usually foll by at)
1.  informal to hit hard with a sweeping blow
2.  slang (tr) to steal
3.  (tr) to pass a machine-readable card, such as a credit card, debit card, etc, through a machine that electronically interprets the information encoded, usu. in a magnetic strip, on the card
 
—n
4.  informal a hard blow
5.  an unexpected criticism of someone or something while discussing another subject
6.  Also called: sweep a type of lever for raising and lowering a weight, such as a bucket in a well
 
[C19: perhaps related to sweep]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

swipe
1807, "a driving stroke made with the arms in full swing," perhaps a dialectal variant of sweep, or in part from obsolete swip "a stroke, blow" (c.1200), from P.Gmc. *swip-, related to O.E. swipu "a stick, whip." Other possible sources or influences are M.E. swope "to sweep with broad movements" (in
ref. to brooms, swords, etc.), from O.E. swapan; obsolete swaip "stroke, blow;" or obsolete swape "oar, pole." The verb is from 1825. The slang sense of "steal, pilfer" appeared 1889, Amer.Eng., said originally to be theatrical jargon for performers stealing jokes or stage routines from one another. Meaning "run a credit card" is 1990s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

swipe definition


  1. tv.
    to drink liquor rapidly and to excess; to bolt a drink of liquor. : Fred sat at the bar and swiped two gins and ate an egg.
  2. n.
    moonshine; inferior liquor. : I can't stand the swipe they serve here.
  3. tv.
    to steal something. : Bart swiped a pack of cigarettes from the counter.
  4. n.
    a blow or an act of striking someone or something. (See also take a swipe at (so/sth) .) : The cat gave the mouse a swipe with its paw.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Example sentences
Players swipe their fingers or tap the touchscreen to check out their farms,
  harvest crops or perform other tasks.
Not studying them necessarily for swipe material, but studying them because of
  their skill at drawing.
If you ever want to take a swipe at me feel free to do so.
Fortunately it's interesting enough to be worth taking a swipe at.
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