Definition of SWAT (original) (raw)
: to make a false report of an ongoing serious crime in order to elicit a response from law enforcement (such as the dispatch of a SWAT unit)
Special FBI Agent John Bennett of San Francisco said in a statement to CBS, that those who swat want to see "a tactical response"—specifically, they "want to see armed officers, they want to see a bomb, dogs, helicopters …"—
Bryn Lovitt
The congresswoman had just been "swatted," or subjected to a malicious act in which a person hides their identity, then calls the cops and reports a violent crime at the address of whomever they're targeting.—Ryan Grenoble
swatting noun
Prosecutors say that in addition to initiating the swatting episode in Kansas … Mr. Barriss made dozens of other, similar calls to emergency and law enforcement agencies across the country during which he falsely reported bomb threats, active shootings and other criminal activity at high schools, shopping malls and even the Federal Bureau of Investigation. —Matt Stevens and Andrew R. Chow
Examples of swat in a Sentence
Verb (1)
She swatted the fly with a magazine. The cat was swatting the injured mouse with its paw. He swatted the tennis ball out of bounds. Noun (1)
the impatient toddler got a swat on his wrist for stepping into the street by himself
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Bednar thought Wedgewood was too far out of his crease on the latter, allowing the Wild forward to swat a flying puck into the net. —Peter Baugh, New York Times, 10 May 2026 Toews’ deflection bounced high from the left face-off dot toward Wedgewood’s net — but before the goalie could control the rebound, Hartman swatted it like a pickleball volley in mid-air and past the Colorado goaltender for a 3-0 Minnesota lead. —Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 10 May 2026
In the case of the viral video, however, the owner's context that the dogs get along well suggests that this swat was likely a boundary-testing nudge. —Maria Morava, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 July 2025 This despite the fact that Brian was almost completely deaf in his right ear, allegedly the result of a swat by his abusive father. —Erik Pedersen, Deadline, 11 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for swat
Word History
Etymology
Verb (1)
English dialect, to squat, alteration of English squat
Verb (2)
verbal derivative of swat
Noun (2)
_s_pecial _w_eapons _a_nd _t_actics
First Known Use
Verb (1)
circa 1796, in the meaning defined above
Noun (1)
circa 1800, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb (2)
2007, in the meaning defined above
Noun (2)
1968, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of swat was circa 1796