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Glite Dictionary
to make a swish

to make a swish

4.2
A soft whooshing sound when something moves or when a basketball goes through the hoop without touching the rim
  • phrasal verb
  • /meɪk ə swɪʃ/
translation icon : hacer un susurro
  • Wow! That shot really made a swish!

Examples

  • As the broom passed over the floor, it made a swish that echoed through the quiet hallway.

  • The crowd cheered when he made a swish from the three-point line.

  • Her silk skirt made a swish every time she turned around.

  • He loves to make a swish when he shoots hoops.

  • As he shot the basketball, it went through the hoop with a satisfying swish.

  • The sound of her dress swished as she walked down the hallway.

  • When he made the three-pointer, the crowd erupted after the ball hit the net with a clean swish.

Synonyms

to swish
vsto make a swish
20 4.1

To move with a soft hissing or rustling sound in a smooth sweep

is used for a soft smooth sound or for scoring without touching the rim
to swoosh
vsto make a swish
3 5.6

To move quickly and make a soft rushing sound

is softer and can also mean scoring by passing through the hoop cleanly
to wiffle
vsto make a swish
8.4

To make a soft swishing sound when something moves quickly through the air

also refers to a clear scoring sound in basketball without rim contact

How Accurate

to make a swish
4.2
to rim
5.8

Surface Forms

make a swish infinitive
made a swish past
made a swish past participle
making a swish present participle
makes a swish third person singular

Morphology

make + a + swish

The core meaning 'to produce a soft, swooshing sound' is directly and compositionally derived from 'make' (cause/produce) + 'swish' (a smooth, hissing sweep; onomatopoeic), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer this. The basketball sense (scoring a clean shot) is a straightforward, predictable extension referring to producing that sound when the ball goes through the hoop, so the expression remains transparently interpretable from its parts.

Etymology

Make a swish may come from the soft swoosh of cloth or a broom and from the clear swish a basketball makes when it passes through the net without touching the rim. So, make a swish means 'to make that soft sound' or, in basketball, 'to score cleanly through the hoop'.