[swoop] 
,| 1. | to sweep through the air, as a bird or a bat, esp. down upon prey. |
| 2. | to come down upon something in a sudden, swift attack (often fol. by down and on or upon): The army swooped down on the town. |
| 3. | to take, lift, scoop up, or remove with or as with one sweeping motion (often fol. by up, away, or off): He swooped her up in his arms. |
| 4. | an act or instance of swooping; a sudden, swift descent. |
| 5. | at or in one fell swoop, all at once or all together, as if by one blow: The quake flattened the houses at one fell swoop. |
| swoop (swōōp) v. swooped, swoop·ing, swoops v. intr.
To seize or snatch in or as if in a sudden sweeping movement. n. The act or an instance of swooping. [Middle English swopen, to sweep along, from Old English swāpan, to sweep, swing.] |
