to swipe
- verb
- /swaɪp/
- The peanut butter stuck to his palate, and he swiped at it impotently with his tongue.
- swipe at the arm
- side-swipe
- swipe at a fly
Examples
-
Over and over, I swiped at him while he dodged around before me.
Fiction book (1995) -
Even our cats caught frogs, sitting on flat rocks and swiping with their paws.
Fiction book (2001) -
As he turns to swipe it, you swipe the vase.
-
And you can always flip your brush around, go back in with the yellow and again swipe at the edges.
-
I pick up a feather duster and swipe at the shelves.
Fiction book (2000) -
The windshield wipers swipe incessantly at the constant sheet of rain beyond.
Fiction book (1993) -
Wanda playfully swipes at Wolf's face with a negligee she is returning to the closet.
Fiction book (1995) -
He swiped the ball out of the air with a swift motion.
-
In a playful gesture, she swiped at her brother's arm with her hand.
-
The cat swiped at the passing butterfly, trying to catch it.
Synonyms
To hit someone or something with force
Hit quickly with the flat part of the hand
To hit someone or something quickly with a closed fist
Move the arm in a wide sweep to try to hit something
To move quickly and smoothly in a wide motion
To move something quickly with a finger or hand
Move suddenly toward someone to try to hit or kick them
To hit someone or something hard
To hit something very hard with your fist or a bat
Antonyms
How Forceful
Surface Forms
Etymology
Swipe is like the word sweep, which means 'to move in a long, sweeping line'. So to swipe something is to hit it with a quick, sweeping motion.