swing
verb /swɪŋ/
/swɪŋ/
Verb Forms
Idioms Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they swing | /swɪŋ/ /swɪŋ/ |
| he / she / it swings | /swɪŋz/ /swɪŋz/ |
| past simple swung | /swʌŋ/ /swʌŋ/ |
| past participle swung | /swʌŋ/ /swʌŋ/ |
| -ing form swinging | /ˈswɪŋɪŋ/ /ˈswɪŋɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive, transitive] to move backwards or forwards or from side to side while hanging from a fixed point; to make something do this
- His arms swung as he walked.
- As he pushed her, she swung higher and higher (= while sitting on a swing).
- swing from something A set of keys swung from her belt.
- swing something He sat on the stool, swinging his legs.
Extra Examples- I could see him swinging from the branch of a large tree.
- Let your arms swing freely at your sides.
- The rope was swinging slightly in the breeze.
- The elephant swung its trunk from side to side.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- gently
- slowly
- violently
- …
- from
- [intransitive, transitive] to move from one place to another by holding something that is fixed and pulling yourself along, up, etc.
- + adv./prep. The gunshot sent monkeys swinging away through the trees.
- swing yourself + adv./prep. He swung himself out of the car.
Extra Examples- He swung up into the saddle and rode off.
- She swung down from the tree in one easy movement.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- slowly
- suddenly
- sharply
- …
- let something
- from
- into
- towards/toward
- …
- swing open
- swing shut
- [intransitive, transitive] to move or make something move with a wide curved movement
- + adv./prep. A line of cars swung out of the palace gates.
- swing something + adv./prep. He swung his legs over the side of the bed.
- + adj. The door swung open.
- She let the door swing shut behind her.
- swing something + adj. She swung the door open.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- slowly
- suddenly
- sharply
- …
- let something
- from
- into
- towards/toward
- …
- swing open
- swing shut
- [intransitive, transitive] to change or make somebody/something change from one opinion, mood, etc. to another
- swing (from A) (to B) The state has swung from Republican to Democrat.
- swing (between A and B) His emotions swung between fear and curiosity.
- The game could swing either way (= either side could win it).
- swing somebody/something (to something) I managed to swing them round to my point of view.
Extra ExamplesTopics Opinion and argumentc1- Her mood could swing rapidly from gloom to exhilaration.
- Opinion swung heavily to the left.
- The balance of power swung wildly from one party to the other.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- rapidly
- suddenly
- wildly
- …
- from
- to
- [intransitive, transitive] to turn or change direction suddenly; to make something do this
- + adv./prep. She swung back to face him.
- The bus swung sharply to the left.
- swing something + adv./prep. He swung the camera around to face the opposite direction.
Extra Examples- Nick swung towards her.
- She swung around angrily, her eyes blazing.
- Suddenly she swung back on her heel.
- He swung the car round in a dangerous U-turn.
- [intransitive, transitive] to try to hit somebody/something
- swing at somebody/something She swung at me with the iron bar.
- swing something (at somebody/something) He swung another punch in my direction.
- [transitive] (informal) to succeed in getting or achieving something, sometimes in a slightly dishonest way
- swing something We're trying to swing it so that we can travel on the same flight.
- swing somebody something Is there any chance of you swinging us a couple of tickets?
- [intransitive] to have a strong rhythm
- [intransitive] (informal) if a party, etc. is swinging, there are a lot of people there having a good time
hang and move
move in curve
change opinion/mood
turn quickly
try to hit
do/get something
of music
of party
Word OriginOld English swingan ‘to beat, whip’, also ‘rush’, geswing ‘a stroke with a weapon’, of Germanic origin; related to German schwingen ‘brandish’.
Idioms
no room to swing a cat
- (informal) when somebody says there’s no room to swing a cat, they mean that a room is very small and that there is not enough space
swing the balance
(also tip the balance/scales)
- to affect the result of something in one way rather than another
- In an interview, smart presentation can swing the balance in your favour.
- New evidence swung the balance against the prosecution.
swing both ways
- (informal) to be bisexual (= sexually attracted to both men and women)
swing for the fences
- (North American English) to really try to achieve something great, even when it is not reasonable to expect to be so successful
- entrepreneurs who think big and swing for the fences
- Investors need to manage risk and not swing for the fences.
swing into action
- to start doing something quickly and with a lot of energy
- The ambulance crew swung into action to resuscitate the patient.
- The rescue operation swung into action immediately.
- The emergency services swung into action as soon as the disaster was reported.
swing the lead
- (old-fashioned, British English, informal) (usually used in the progressive tenses) to pretend to be ill when in fact you are not, especially to avoid work
- I don't think there's anything wrong with her—she's just swinging the lead.
