Swing

[swɪŋ]

Definition

(noun.) changing location by moving back and forth.

(noun.) a square dance figure; a pair of dancers join hands and dance around a point between them.

(noun.) a sweeping blow or stroke; 'he took a wild swing at my head'.

(noun.) mechanical device used as a plaything to support someone swinging back and forth.

(noun.) a style of jazz played by big bands popular in the 1930s; flowing rhythms but less complex than later styles of jazz.

(noun.) a state of steady vigorous action that is characteristic of an activity; 'the party went with a swing'; 'it took time to get into the swing of things'.

(verb.) alternate dramatically between high and low values; 'his mood swings'; 'the market is swinging up and down'.

(verb.) hit or aim at with a sweeping arm movement; 'The soccer player began to swing at the referee'.

(verb.) engage freely in promiscuous sex, often with the husband or wife of one's friends; 'There were many swinging couples in the 1960's'.

(verb.) make a big sweeping gesture or movement.

(verb.) play with a subtle and intuitively felt sense of rhythm.

(verb.) move or walk in a swinging or swaying manner; 'He swung back'.

(verb.) change direction with a swinging motion; turn; 'swing back'; 'swing forward'.

(verb.) move in a curve or arc, usually with the intent of hitting; 'He swung his left fist'; 'swing a bat'.

(verb.) be a social swinger; socialize a lot.

(verb.) influence decisively; 'This action swung many votes over to his side'.

(verb.) live in a lively, modern, and relaxed style; 'The Woodstock generation attempted to swing freely'.

(verb.) have a certain musical rhythm; 'The music has to swing'.

Checked by Clifton--From WordNet

Definition

(v. i.) To move to and fro, as a body suspended in the air; to wave; to vibrate; to oscillate.

(v. i.) To sway or move from one side or direction to another; as, the door swung open.

(v. i.) To use a swing; as, a boy swings for exercise or pleasure. See Swing, n., 3.

(n.) To turn round by action of wind or tide when at anchor; as, a ship swings with the tide.

(n.) To be hanged.

(v. t.) To cause to swing or vibrate; to cause to move backward and forward, or from one side to the other.

(v. t.) To give a circular movement to; to whirl; to brandish; as, to swing a sword; to swing a club; hence, colloquially, to manage; as, to swing a business.

(v. t.) To admit or turn (anything) for the purpose of shaping it; -- said of a lathe; as, the lathe can swing a pulley of 12 inches diameter.

(n.) The act of swinging; a waving, oscillating, or vibratory motion of a hanging or pivoted object; oscillation; as, the swing of a pendulum.

(n.) Swaying motion from one side or direction to the other; as, some men walk with a swing.

(n.) A line, cord, or other thing suspended and hanging loose, upon which anything may swing; especially, an apparatus for recreation by swinging, commonly consisting of a rope, the two ends of which are attached overhead, as to the bough of a tree, a seat being placed in the loop at the bottom; also, any contrivance by which a similar motion is produced for amusement or exercise.

(n.) Influence of power of a body put in swaying motion.

(n.) Capacity of a turning lathe, as determined by the diameter of the largest object that can be turned in it.

(n.) Free course; unrestrained liberty or license; tendency.

Typist: Rodger

Synonyms and Synonymous

v. n. [1]. Oscillate, vibrate, wave, move to and fro, move backward and forward.[2]. Hang, dangle, hang loose.

n. [1]. Oscillation, vibration, waving motion.[2]. Scope, range, play, margin, free play, full play, elbow room.

Checked by Edmond

Synonyms and Antonyms

SYN:Oscillate, dangle, wave, vibrate

ANT:Be_stationary

Edited by Ellis

Definition

v.i. to sway or wave to and fro as a body hanging in air: to move forward with swaying gait: to vibrate: to practise swinging: to turn round at anchor: to be hanged.—v.t. to move to and fro: to cause to wave or vibrate: to whirl to brandish: to cause to wheel or turn as about some point: to fix up anything so as to hang freely:—pa.t. and pa.p. swung.—n. the act of swinging: motion to and fro: a waving motion: anything suspended for swinging in: the sweep or compass of a swinging body: the sweep of a golf-club when driving: influence or power of anything put in motion: free course unrestrained liberty.—ns. Swing′-back a device for adjusting the plate-holder of a camera at any desired angle; Swing′boat a boat-shaped carriage swung from a frame in use for swinging in at fairs &c.; Swing′-bridge a bridge that may be moved aside by swinging at the mouth of docks &c.; Swing′-churn a churn-box so hung as to be worked by oscillation; Swing′er; Swing′-han′dle a pivoted handle of any utensil esp. a bail or other arched handle; Swing′ing the act of moving back and forth esp. the pastime of moving in a swing.—adj. having a free easy motion.—n. Swing′ing-boom the spar which stretches the foot of a lower studding-sail.—adv. Swing′ingly in a swinging-manner.—ns. Swing′ing-post the post to which a gate is hung; Swing′ism a form of intimidation common in England about 1830-33 which consisted mainly in sending letters signed 'Swing' or 'Captain Swing' to farmers ordering them under threats to give up threshing-machines &c.; Swing′-mō′tion a mechanism in the truck of a railway carriage &c. permitting swaying from side to side; Swing′-pan a sugar-pan with spout pivoted so that it may be emptied by tipping; Swing′-plough a plough without a fore-wheel under the beam; Swing′-shelf a hanging shelf; Swing′-stock an upright timber with a blunt edge at top over which flax was beaten by the swingle—also Swing′ing-block; Swing′-swang a complete oscillation.—adj. swinging drawling.—ns. Swing′-tā′ble a moveable bed on which plate-glass is cemented for polishing; Swing′-tool a holder swinging on horizontal centres on which work is fastened so as to hold flat against the face of a file; Swing′-tree,=Swingle-tree (q.v.); Swing′-trot a swinging trot; Swing′-wheel the wheel that drives a clock pendulum corresponding to the balance-wheel in a watch."

Edited by Edward

Examples

If a delicately made magnet is suspended as in Figure 223, and is allowed to swing freely, it will always assume a definite north and south position. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
We must not swing across from the repudiation of the extravagant pretensions of the faithful to an equally extravagant condemnation. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
By other means, a swing blade, for instance, the matches were all severed from the block. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
Looking towards the swing-door, as he said those last words, I fancied I saw it opened a little way from the inner side. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
Mary was in a grassy corner of the garden, where there was a swing loftily hung between two pear-trees. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
I modestly assented, and we all fell through a little dirty swing door, into a sort of hot packing-case immediately behind it. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
There he goes, said Holmes, as we watched the carriage swing and rock over the points. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
And as she swung her head, her fine mane of hair just swept his face, and all his nerves were on fire, as with a subtle friction of electricity. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
Pablo swung his legs down from the table and walked around it to the big chair of the Mayor on the raised platform behind the long council table. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
These mirrors are hinged at O O, and when swung outward rest by their external edges against the bar P, and then occupy the position shown by the dotted lines G′ G′. William K. David. Secrets of Wise Men, Chemists and Great Physicians.
The door swung open; the smell of growing things greeted my nostrils; the cool night air blew against my cheek. Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Gods of Mars.
The door was softly shut again; then after another interval it swung majestically open, and a murmur ran through the church: The family! Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
Twenty minutes after the first volley the great fleet swung trailing off in the direction from which it had first appeared. Edgar Rice Burroughs. A Princess of Mars.
The piece of timber swung in the current and I held it with one hand. Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell To Arms.
The swinging caught his attention, and he watched it with more and more interest. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
Oh, I don't know, said Caleb, swinging his head aside. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
The horse was snatching grass, swinging his head sideways as he pulled, annoyed by the man and his talking. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
Everybody got out of the way; everybody bowed to the Emperor and his friend the Sultan; and they went by on a swinging trot and disappeared. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
He passed the sentry where he lay and ran onto the bridge, the packs swinging. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
Then followed the famous observation of the swinging lamp by the then young Galileo, about 1582, while lounging in the cathedral of Pisa. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
Tom had sat upon the bed, swinging one leg and sucking his walking-stick with sufficient unconcern, until the visit had attained this stage. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
Naturally, the heavier side of the ball swings to the bottom. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
If now a weight of 1 pound is suspended from the bar at some point, say 12, the balance is disturbed, and the bar swings about the point _F_ as a center. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
If the direction of flow of current be reversed, by reversing the battery, the electromagnetic polarity also reverses and the end of the permanent magnet swings over to the other side. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
For us now that door swings wider, and the light behind grows brighter. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
They are arranged in two series, one on each side of the center, and in printing each loop swings down like the wing of a bird. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
As a consequence, the coil swings farther than before; that is, the greater the current, the farther the swing. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
When that wheel turns to the right, as it must, it will force back the arm of the pallet which swings on its arbor. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.

Typist: Rachel