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Glite Dictionary
swatter

swatter

7 2.0
A flat tool with a handle that you use to hit and kill bugs like flies
  • noun
  • /ˈswɑːtər/
translation icon : matamoscas
  • I grabbed the swatter to chase away the flies buzzing around the kitchen.
  • fly swatter
  • bug swatter

Examples

  • I'm gonna get me a fly swatter.

    The Andromeda Strain (1971)

  • Now it's nothing but a fly swatter.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • Pardon me, but have you a fly swatter?

    Limelight (1952)

  • Wouldn't it be better to use a fly swatter, sir?

    Toys (1992)

  • I didn't bring my fly swatter.

    Wild Wild West (1999)

  • Having said this, Dhurjati Babu put down his fork and spoon, picked up the fly swatter, and with unerring aim killed a mosquito that had alighted on the table.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Using a swatter, she quickly eliminated the mosquito that was bothering her.

  • The old swatter was very effective at killing the pesky flies in the summer heat.

Synonyms

zapper
vsswatter
  • NSFW
9 7.0

A small electric device that kills insects like flies and mosquitoes with a shock

is a non electric hitting tool used to kill insects by force
flyswatter
vsswatter
3 2.4

A flat tool with a handle used to kill flies and other insects

is a simple non electric implement used by hitting insects
flyswat
vsswatter
4.8

A handheld tool with a flat end and long handle for hitting flies

is the same manual hitting tool rather than an electric device

How Effective

zapper
  • NSFW
9 7.0
swatter
7 2.0
flypaper
4 4.3

Surface Forms

swatter singular
swatters plural

Morphology

swatter = swat (transparent) = swat + er

A straightforward instrument noun formed from the verb 'swat' with the productive suffix '-er', so the meaning is directly predictable.

Etymology

Swatter starts with the quick verb swat, which means 'to hit quickly', and adds -er, meaning 'something that does the action'. So a swatter is simply a tool that 'hits' flies or mosquitoes to kill or chase them.