swipe
/swʌɪp
/informal
verb [with object]
1Hit or try to hit with a swinging blow: she swiped me right across the nose [no object]: Lola stood on the balcony, swiping at the moths...
- He was swiping at the air with his hockey stick as if that would help.
- He is cranky and on several occasions has tried to swipe at or bite the tourists.
- The coyote snapped at one of the wolves, and the two foxes, with smaller teeth and claws, but teeth and claws nonetheless, began snapping and swiping at the two wolves that snapped back at them.
Synonyms
strike, swing, hit, slap, cuff, lash out
informal belt, wallop, sock, biff, clout
2Steal: someone swiped one of his sausages...
- They're stealing more money, swiping more identities, wrecking more corporate computers, and breaking into more secure networks than ever before.
- The bill for the items he stole and damaged topped £72,000 and his crimes included swiping Christmas presents from family homes last year.
- He stole that merchandise as surely as if he had swiped it off the loading dock.
Synonyms
steal, thieve, take, pilfer, purloin, snatch, help oneself to, appropriate, abstract, shoplift
informal filch, lift, snaffle, rob, nab
British informal nick, pinch, whip, half-inch, blag
North American glom
3Pass (a swipe card) through an electronic device designed to read and process the information encoded on it.'Besides,' he continued, swiping his I.D. pass through an electronic lock, 'the kids trust us.'...
- Although the door the intruder used to enter the building can only be opened by swiping a security pass, it takes a considerable time to close, allowing the student time to get in.
- A register might be taken electronically after children had swiped their way into class.
3.1Move (one’s finger) across a touchscreen in order to activate a function: simply swipe a finger across the phone’s display screen to switch to another program [no object]: swipe to the left on the main navigation page and you’ll see a user login menu...
- The controls are stupefyingly simple; swipe up to jump, left or right or turn, down to slide under stuff.
- It may make more sense to just walk up to the TV, touch the "window" that's showing the desired input, and then swipe until you get to the show and episode you want.
- To make it easier for users to tap and swipe on even superthin Ultrabooks, laptop makers will introduce laptops with more unusual designs.
noun
1A sweeping blow: he missed the ball with his first swipe...
- Justin turned aside the blow with a quick swipe, and countered with a low sweep, hoping to get Timothy to jump over the blade.
- His upward swipe countered the first two's downward blows.
- The officer, a commander by the looks of it, parried his blow before attempting another swipe.
Synonyms
strike, stroke, swing, hit, slap, brush, cuff, clip
informal belt, wallop
1.1An attack or criticism: he took a swipe at his critics...
- In accepting the award, he paid tribute to the role fans played in turning his movies into a success and took a swipe at critics in the process.
- He took a swipe at earlier press reports which claimed he would take advantage of the company and sell the properties as soon as he could after the two-year period to pocket profits.
- He took a swipe at the Democratic candidates yesterday who want to roll back his cuts, claiming the reductions have fuelled a broad economic recovery in the US.
2An act or instance of moving one’s finger across a touchscreen to activate a function: a swipe to the right archives or deletes the message...
- Users will be able to use two-finger swipes to jump from the current site to the previous one, or to the next one.
- Various combinations of taps and swipes mimic the actions of a trackpad or mouse.
- It has been updated specifically to incorporate finger swipes and movements that allow for navigation, switching through apps, and zooming in and out.
Phrases
swipe right (or left)
Derivatives
swipeable
- Rather than amassing money by collecting house-shaped plastic chips, players accrue points in the so-called Electronic Banking version of the game on swipable bank cards.
- We hope you like the new look on swipeable mobile devices like the iPad.
- The app also makes viewing multiple pages easier, adding a swipeable menu at the bottom of its user interface that lets you easily switch between open web pages.
swiper
- The way the swipers use the information might surprise them as well: Some bars and restaurants scan driver's licenses to catch underage drinkers and fake IDs, but they're also using the information for marketing purposes.
- Jack had no interest in having anyone assist him and if he had, a swiper of his earlier drawings was the last guy he'd have hired, so the offer was politely declined.
- The Navy has even put a swiper by the door of the chapel as a substitute for the Sunday church-service collection plate, says Cmdr.
Origin
Mid 18th century: perhaps a variant of sweep.