↔️ To move back and forth ↔️ A back-and-forth movement ⚾ To hit with force ⚾ A strong hit 🏃 Active period 🪁 A seat for swinging 🎷 Lively jazz style 🎷 To play with rhythm 🗳️ To influence result 🔄 To change quickly 🎉 To party 🔄 To swap partners 💃 A dance move

to swing

43 5.3

Play jazz music with a lively, strong rhythm

verb
/swɪŋ/

: tocar con swing

You can swing, you can groove it, you can really start to move it at the hop
jazz swings
music swings

Examples

And swing it Mr. Mendelssohn swing it high

That's Entertainment! III (1994)
Dale sang a fast, energetic song, his voice swinging up high and dropping down low.

Fiction book (1993)
While this group loves big band music, they have found swinging eighth notes and syncopation harder than they anticipated.

Academic text (1997)
On screen, the Nutty Professor's alter ego, "Buddy Love," launches into his swinging version of "That Old Black Magic."

Fiction book (1997)
Vladimir invites Sophie to dance, and the entire glittering assembly swings into a GLORIOUS SWEEPING WALTZ.

Fiction book (1997)
By singing "Minnie the Moocher," a swinging lament for an opium addict he had written a half-century earlier.

Academic text (2011)
The lively band started to swing, filling the room with vibrant jazz tunes.
At the festival, the musicians really know how to swing, bringing everyone to the dance floor.
As soon as the trumpeter began to play, the entire crowd began to swing along to the rhythm.

Idioms

in full swing

23 3.5

At the peak of activity when many people are active and working

to swing for the fences

Informal

5 7.3

Try something risky to get a big reward

back into the swing of things

Informal

5 5.3

To start doing your normal work and activities after a break

swing and a miss

Informal

3 7.0

An attempt that fails to get the result you wanted

in the swing of things

3 6.8

Being comfortable and taking part easily in an activity

to swing both ways

NSFW

1 8.3

To be attracted to both men and women or to like different things

Phrasal Verbs

to swing by

72 3.7

Visit a place for a short time while on the way somewhere

to swing around

10 3.2

Turn quickly to face the opposite direction

to swing out

6 3.9

To move outward in a wide, sweeping motion

to swing wide

1 3.9

Open a door or gate fully by moving it on its hinges

to swing through

1 3.9

Stop at a place for a short time while going somewhere else

to swing about

1 4.8

To turn quickly to face another direction or change your opinion suddenly

to swing from branch to branch

1 3.8

Move quickly through trees like monkeys by holding and letting go of branches

to swing over

5.8

Make someone change their opinion or decision

to swing round the circle

9.9

To go around the group to hear each person's opinion

Compounds

mood swing

40 3.9

A sudden change from one emotion to another without warning

swing voter

20 4.2

A person who sometimes votes for different political parties and can decide the result of an election

swing set

11 1.0

A frame with seats hanging by chains or ropes for children to swing back and forth

swing door

3 3.1

A door on hinges that opens in both directions

swing shift

3 4.3

An evening work shift from late afternoon until around midnight

swing music

1 3.9

A lively style of jazz with a strong beat that big bands play

baseball swing

1 2.9

The movement a player makes with a bat to hit a thrown ball

swing set

3.7

A group of swing jazz songs played together to make people dance

How Rhythmic

to swing

43 5.3

to groove

Informal

18 3.9

Surface Forms

swing infinitive

swinging present participle

swings third person singular

swung past

swung past participle

Etymology

Swing as a verb in music—'to play with a lively, rhythmic feeling'—comes from the same idea of moving with a steady beat. Musicians say a band 'swings' when the music has that natural push and pull, which is why the word is used for the feeling.