swish

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swish

(swĭsh)

v. swished, swish·ing, swish·es

v.intr.

1. To move with a hissing or whistling sound.

2. To rustle, as silk.

v.tr.

1. To cause to move with a swishing sound: The horse swished its tail.

2. To swirl or agitate (a liquid) in a glass or in the mouth with a swishing sound.

3. To whip with a rod.

a. A sharp whistling or rustling sound: the swish of scythes.

b. A movement making such a sound.

2. Basketball A shot that goes through the net of the basket without hitting the backboard or rim.

3. A rod used for flogging.

4. Offensive Slang Used as a disparaging term for a gay man.

adj.

1. Chiefly British Fashionable; posh: "a swish pastry shop on the Rue du Bac" (Julia Child).

2. Offensive Slang Effeminate.

[Imitative.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

swish

(swɪʃ)

1. to move with or make or cause to move with or make a whistling or hissing sound

2. (Textiles) (intr) (esp of fabrics) to rustle

3. (tr) slang rare to whip; flog

4. (foll by: off) to cut with a swishing blow

5. a hissing or rustling sound or movement

6. (Arms & Armour (excluding Firearms)) a rod for flogging or a blow from such a rod

7. slang US an effeminate male homosexual

8. (Building) a W African building material composed of mortar and mud or laterite, or more recently of cement and earth

adj

9. informal chiefly Brit fashionable; smart

10. slang US effeminate and homosexual

[C18: of imitative origin]

ˈswisher n

ˈswishing adj

ˈswishingly adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

swish

(swɪʃ)

v.i.

1. to move with or make a sibilant sound, as a slender rod cutting sharply through the air.

2. to rustle, as silk.

v.t.

3. to flourish, whisk, etc., with a swishing movement or sound.

4. to bring, take, cut, etc., with such a movement or sound.

5. to flog or whip.

6. a swishing movement or sound.

7. a stick or rod for flogging, or a stroke with this.

8. Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. (a contemptuous term used to refer to an effeminate male homosexual.)

adj.

9. Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. swishy (def. 2).

10. Chiefly Brit. Informal. fashionable.

[1750–60; imitative]

usage: Definitions 9 and 10 are slurs and should be avoided. They are used with disparaging intent and are perceived as insulting.

Swish

of hairdressers—Lipton, 1970.

swish

Past participle: swished
Gerund: swishing

Imperative
swish
swish

Present
I swish
you swish
he/she/it swishes
we swish
you swish
they swish

Preterite
I swished
you swished
he/she/it swished
we swished
you swished
they swished

Present Continuous
I am swishing
you are swishing
he/she/it is swishing
we are swishing
you are swishing
they are swishing

Present Perfect
I have swished
you have swished
he/she/it has swished
we have swished
you have swished
they have swished

Past Continuous
I was swishing
you were swishing
he/she/it was swishing
we were swishing
you were swishing
they were swishing

Past Perfect
I had swished
you had swished
he/she/it had swished
we had swished
you had swished
they had swished

Future
I will swish
you will swish
he/she/it will swish
we will swish
you will swish
they will swish

Future Perfect
I will have swished
you will have swished
he/she/it will have swished
we will have swished
you will have swished
they will have swished

Future Continuous
I will be swishing
you will be swishing
he/she/it will be swishing
we will be swishing
you will be swishing
they will be swishing

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been swishing
you have been swishing
he/she/it has been swishing
we have been swishing
you have been swishing
they have been swishing

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been swishing
you will have been swishing
he/she/it will have been swishing
we will have been swishing
you will have been swishing
they will have been swishing

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been swishing
you had been swishing
he/she/it had been swishing
we had been swishing
you had been swishing
they had been swishing

Conditional
I would swish
you would swish
he/she/it would swish
we would swish
you would swish
they would swish

Past Conditional
I would have swished
you would have swished
he/she/it would have swished
we would have swished
you would have swished
they would have swished

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	swish - a brushing or rustling sound sound - the sudden occurrence of an audible event; "the sound awakened them"
Verb	1.	swish - move with or cause to move with a whistling or hissing sound; "The bubbles swoshed around in the glass"; "The curtain swooshed open" swoosh, swosh, lap sound, go - make a certain noise or sound; "She went `Mmmmm'"; "The gun went `bang'"
Adj.	1.	swish - elegant and fashionable; "classy clothes"; "a classy dame"; "a posh restaurant"; "a swish pastry shop on the Rue du Bac"- Julia Child classy, posh colloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech stylish, fashionable - having elegance or taste or refinement in manners or dress; "a little less posh but every bit as stylish as Lord Peter Wimsey"; "the stylish resort of Gstadd"

swish

adjective (Informal, chiefly Brit.) smart, grand, posh (informal, chiefly Brit.), exclusive, elegant, swell (informal), fashionable, sumptuous, ritzy (slang), de luxe, plush or plushy (informal) a swish cocktail bar

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

swish

verb

To make a sharp sibilant sound:

fizz, fizzle, hiss, sibilate, sizzle, whiz, whoosh.

adjective

Informal. Being or in accordance with the current fashion:

à la mode, chic, dashing, fashionable, mod, modish, posh, smart, stylish, swank, swanky, trig.

Informal: classy, in, sharp, snappy, tony, trendy.

Slang: with-it.

Idioms: all the rage, up to the minute.

Translations

حَفيف، هَزيزيَهِفُّ، يَحِفُّ

šviháníšvihatsvištět

svingesvingen

Sausen

bruissement

suhogássuhogtat

hvína, slá svo hvíni íòytur, hvinur

agitare fruscio sibilare sibilo

pliauškinti

čaukstēšanačaukstētšņākoņašņāktšvīkstēt

sus

sibilar

švihaniešvihať

hışırda makhışırdama

嗖嗖挥动或嗖嗖声嗖地挥动

swish

[swɪʃ]

A. N [of cane] → silbido m; [of skirt] → frufrú m; [of water] → susurro m

B. ADJ (= smart) → muy elegante

C. VT [+ cane] → agitar, blandir (produciendo un silbido); [+ skirt] → hacer frufrú con; [+ tail] → agitar, menear

D. VI [skirts] → hacer frufrú; [long grass] → silbar; [water] → susurrar
a car swished past → pasó un coche deslizándose por el asfalto mojado

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

swish

[ˈswɪʃ]

adj (British) (= smart) [restaurant, hotel, car] → classe

vi [whip] → siffler; [skirt, long grass] → bruisser; [curtains]
The curtains swished open → Les rideaux s'ouvrirent dans un bruissement.

vt [+ whip] → faire cingler
to swish its tail [horse, cow] → fouetter de la queue

n [tail] → fouettement m; [skirt] → bruissement m; [whip] → cinglement m

swish

n (of whip, cane) → Zischen nt, → Sausen nt; (of grass) → Rascheln nt; (of skirts, water) → Rauschen nt; (of tyres) → Pfeifen nt, → Zischen nt; (of windscreen wipers) → Wischen nt

adj (+er) (esp Brit inf: = smart) → (tod)schick

vt cane → zischen or sausen lassen; tail → schlagen mit; skirt → rauschen mit; water → schwenken; she swished water round the bowl → sie schwenkte die Schüssel mit Wasser aus

vi (whip, cane) → zischen, sausen; (grass) → rascheln; (skirts) → rauschen, rascheln; (water) → rauschen; (tyres) → zischen, pfeifen; (windscreen wipers) → wischen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

swish

[swɪʃ]

1. n (sound, of whip) → schiocco; (of skirts, grass) → fruscio

2. adj (fam) (smart) → all'ultimo grido, alla moda

3. vt (whip) → schioccare; (skirt) → far frusciare; (tail) → agitare

4. vi (whip) → schioccare; (skirts, grass) → frusciare

swish

(swiʃ) verb

to (cause to) move with a hissing or rustling sound. He swished the whip about in the air.

noun

an act, or the sound, of swishing. The horse cantered away with a swish of its tail.

swish

vt enjuagar; — and spit enjuagar y escupir; — and swallow enjuagar y tragar

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

I know not what manner of man thou art in the flesh, sir, but figure thee bearded and blackavised, and of a lean tortuous habit of body, that moves ever with a swish. Every morning, I swear, thou readest avidly the list of male births in thy paper, and then are thy hands rubbed gloatingly the one upon the other.

View in context

The man at the helm was watching the luff of the sail and whistling away gently to himself, and that was the only sound excepting the swish of the sea against the bows and around the sides of the ship.

View in context

I heard the swish of the water as the ship was suddenly brought round, and a foamy yellow-green wave flew across the little round window and left it streaming.

View in context

The solemn thundering combers caught her up from astern, passed her with a fierce boiling up of foam level with the bulwarks, swept on ahead with a swish and a roar: and the little vessel, dipping her jib-boom into the tumbling froth, would go on running in a smooth, glassy hollow, a deep valley between two ridges of the sea, hiding the horizon ahead and astern.

View in context

I felt the swish of the hatchet at it grazed my head, and at the same instant my shaft pierced the Sagoth's savage heart, and with a single groan he lunged almost at my feet--stone dead.

View in context

The muffled roar of the Atlantic was in his ears, a strange everlasting background to all the slighter summer sounds, the murmuring of insects, the calling of birds, the melodious swish of the whirling knives in the distant hayfield.

View in context

He heard nothing but the swish of scythes, and saw before him Tit's upright figure mowing away, the crescent-shaped curve of the cut grass, the grass and flower heads slowly and rhythmically falling before the blade of his scythe, and ahead of him the end of the row, where would come the rest.

View in context

Just like parade it had been a minute before-- then stumble, bang, swish!"

View in context

Suddenly the rain of Aunt Jamesina's prophecy came with a swish and rush.

View in context

I get out on th' moor many a day when it's rainin' an' I lie under a bush an' listen to th' soft swish o' drops on th' heather an, I just sniff an, sniff.

View in context

"I should think it was," replied Don Quixote, "for I have had the most prodigious and stupendous battle with the giant that I ever remember having had all the days of my life; and with one back-stroke- swish!- I brought his head tumbling to the ground, and so much blood gushed forth from him that it ran in rivulets over the earth like water."

View in context

In his huge, hairy hands, a long whip, made of green snakes and black cats' tails twisted together, swished through the air in a dangerous way.