swipes

[ swahyps ]

noun(used with a plural verb)British Informal.
  1. poor, watery, or spoiled beer.

  2. malt liquor in general, especially beer and small beer.

Origin of swipes

1
1780–90; noun plural use of swipe to drink down at one gulp, variant of sweep1

Words Nearby swipes

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use swipes in a sentence

  • We called it "swipes," and boys, however small, helped themselves to as much as they liked.

    A Labrador Doctor | Wilfred Thomason Grenfell
  • With a disgusted kick at swipes he left him reeling desperately once more.

    Tess of the Storm Country | Grace Miller White
  • I think that the native drink called swipes was the cause of much of it.

    A Soldier in the Philippines | Needom N. Freeman
  • Sam made a couple of tremendous swipes, and then down went the Aurora's captain and one of his crew.

    Wide Courses | James Brendan Connolly
  • swipes looked very sad, and the stranger's eyes passed from face to face with anxious looks.

British Dictionary definitions for swipes

swipes

/ (swaɪps) /


pl n
  1. British slang beer, esp when poor or weak

Origin of swipes

1
C18: probably related to sweep

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012