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Glite Dictionary
to swing through

to swing through

1 3.9
Stop at a place for a short time while going somewhere else
  • phrasal verb
  • US
translation icon : pasar por
  • She decided to swing through Chicago to visit her old friends during her road trip.
  • swing through town

Examples

  • "Are you going to swing through the city on your way back to Texas?

    Fiction book (2001)

  • I план to swing through New Orleans for a day while driving to my parents' house.

  • While traveling to Seattle, I will swing through Portland just to grab some coffee.

Synonyms

to stop
vsto swing through
∞ 1.0

To pause a journey to stay at a place

focuses on a short casual visit made while on the way elsewhere
to stop by
vsto swing through
  • Informal
494 2.5

To make a short visit to a person or place

is specifically used for brief visits made while on the way elsewhere
to pass through
vsto swing through
255 2.7

To travel through a place without stopping for long

involves briefly stopping or visiting while on the way rather than only moving through
to hop
vsto swing through
107 1.4

To make a short quick trip often by plane or car

involves stopping briefly on the way rather than rapid short travel
to swing by
vsto swing through
72 3.7

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

has identical meaning but differs only in phrasing or preposition
to pay a visit
vsto swing through
50 2.3

To go to someone's home or another place for a short time

is used for visits made while on the way to another destination
to make a pit stop
vsto swing through
9 3.8

To stop briefly on a journey to use the toilet or get food

is a general brief visit while traveling not only for practical needs

Antonyms

to stay
∞ 1.0

To remain in one place and not leave

How Long

to visit
∞ 1.0
to swing through
  • US
1 3.9
to drop by
  • Informal
206 2.5
to pop in
  • Informal
25 3.4

Surface Forms

swing through infinitive
swinging through present participle
swings through third person singular
swung through past
swung through past participle

Morphology

swing + through

The sense 'visit briefly' is partially derivable because 'swing' evokes informal movement/visiting and 'through' suggests passing by, so a learner could infer a short stop. However, the combined phrasal-verb meaning is conventionalized and not fully predictable from the parts without exposure, so it sits between compositional and idiomatic.

Etymology

The phrasal verb swing through comes from the image of a quick movement: you swing through a place and pass by it briefly. So it means 'visit briefly'.