swag
/ˈswæɡ/
swag verb: to (cause to) sway. Also the alternative letter-case form of SWAG.
Verb (1)
swag (third-person singular simple present swags, present participle swagging, simple past and past participle swagged)
- To (cause to) sway.
- Hungry clouds swag on the deep1790, William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, The Argument, p. 1
- Soap/soak the mop into the mop bucket, squeeze it out slightly, swag it back and forth across the piss stained concrete, mop it dry.2013, Odie Hawkins, Zola Salena-Hawkins, Kwanzaa for Conrad & the Survival Tango, →ISBN, page 104
- To droop; to sag.
- so laid, they are more apt in swagging down, to pierce with their points, then in the jacent Posture1624, Henry Wotton, The Elements of Architecture, […], London: […] Iohn Bill, →OCLC
- I swagge as a fatte persos belly swaggeth as he goth.1530, John Palsgrave, L'esclarcissement de la langue francoyse
- To decorate (something) with loops of draped fabric.
- Dior wouldn’t be Dior without the swagged ball gown[…].2009 January 29, Cathy Horyn, “In Paris, a Nod to Old Masters”, in New York Times
- To install (a ceiling fan or light fixture) by means of a long cord running from the ceiling to an outlet, and suspended by hooks or similar.
- Hooks come with screws for use in plaster or wood and toggles for use in wallboard. One hook should be sufficient to swag a lamp from a ceiling outlet.1991, Kalton C. Lahue, Cheryl Smith, Interior Lighting, page 19
Noun (1)
swag (plural swags)
- A loop of draped fabric.
- He looked in bewilderment at number 24, the final house with its regalia of stucco swags and bows.2004, Alan Hollinghurst, The Line of Beauty […], London: Picador, →ISBN
- Something that droops like a swag.
- Detective Inspector Douglas Browne, the flesh of whose cheeks hung in swags, had the friendly aspect of a large brown-eyed dog.2022, Ian McEwan, Lessons, page 18
- A place where water collects; a low, wet place where the land has settled.
- Whenever the muddy water would accumulate in the swag the water from the well in question would become muddy[…] After the water in the swag had all disappeared through the sink-hole the well water would again become clear.1902, D. G. Simmons, “The Influence of Contaminated Water in the Development of Diseases”, in The American Practitioner and News, 34: 182
- This peach tree is th' big tree that allus bore so many peaches. It's th' one in th' low swag by th' old rotted white oak stump.1941, Jesse Stuart, Men of the Mountains, page 273
- A pass, gap or sag in a mountain ridge.
- […] the Stoll household were hoeing corn high up on a bench or "swag" of the mountain facing the home, where there was newer and richer ground than in the abandoned fields in its rear.1927, Lucy S. Furman, The Lonesome Road, page 3
- Finally he managed to grab hold of [the turkey's] legs, but as he did so, the turkey "riz" up into the air and carried him across a "swag" (gap) to the next mountain and courteously dropped him.1960, Joseph S. Hall, Smoky Mountain Folks, page 19
Noun (2)
swag (uncountable)
- Style; fashionable appearance or manner.
- Now this dude got swag, and he was pushing up on me but, it wasn't like we was kicking it or anything!2009, Mark Anthony Archer, Exile, page 119
- They've got those dumb Kanye sunglasses that are $3 a pair at any skanky old market, they've go the word SWAG airbrushed onto them; these kids are hanging around listening to crunk records, throwing around sayings like “Swag it out”, “Turn my swag on”, “Flip the swag switch and homie” and even “Get...2012, Jack Goldstein, Jimmy Russell, 10 Amazing Gangnam Style Tips, →ISBN
Noun (3)
swag (countable and uncountable, plural swags)
- Stolen goods; the booty of a burglar or thief; boodle.
- The swag, is a term used in speaking of any booty you have lately obtained, be it of what kind it may, except money; as where did you lumber the swag? that is, where did you deposit the stolen property? To carry the swag is to be the bearer of the stolen goods to a place of safety.1819, James Hardy Vaux, Memoirs of James Hardy Vaux, volume 1, page 216
- “It′s all arranged about bringing off the swag, is it?” asked the Jew. Sikes nodded.1838, Boz [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], “Chapter 19”, in Oliver Twist; […], volume (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC
- Branded handout, freebies, or giveaways, often distributed at conventions; merchandise.
- "Make sure to take some swag on your way out!" I called.
He stooped a bit in mid-trot and snatched a small gold bag out of the basket at the door. The contents were mostly shit, a few drink tickets to the Well of Souls, VIP status at Convent, that sort of thing.2011, Mark Henry, Battle of the Network Zombies - You may hesitate before you pocket the swag, wondering if doing so is OK. Worry not: Hospitality industry folks say they’re delighted when people feel compelled to take one of these as a keepsake.2022 September 28, Kim Cook, “Why free swag at bars, hotels is so important to brands”, in Toronto Star
- "Make sure to take some swag on your way out!" I called.
- The possessions of a bushman or itinerant worker, tied up in a blanket and carried over the shoulder, sometimes attached to a stick.
- He tramped for years till the swag he bore seemed part of himself to him.1896, Henry Lawson, “Out Back”, in In the Days When the World was Wide, and Other Verses, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, →OCLC, page 49
- Synonyms:
- bindle
- A small single-person tent, usually foldable into an integral backpack.
- A large quantity (of something).
- New Zealand wasted a swag of chances to lose their opening women′s hockey World Cup match.2010 August 31, “Hockey: Black Sticks lose World Cup opener”, in The New Zealand Herald
- A shop and its goods; any quantity of goods.
- Synonyms:
- stock
Verb (2)
swag (third-person singular simple present swags, present participle swagging, simple past and past participle swagged)
- To travel on foot carrying a swag (possessions tied in a blanket).
- He told me that times had been bad at Invercargill, and that he had started for fresh pastures, had worked his passage up as mate in a small craft from the south, and, arriving in Port Underwood, had swagged his calico tent over the hill, and was now living in it, pitched in the manuka scrub.1880, James Coutts Crawford, Recollections of Travel in New Zealand and Australia, page 259
- That such a man was swagging in the Victoria Bush at the age of fifty-one requires explanation.1976, Pembroke Arts Club, The Anglo-Welsh Review, page 158
- To transport stolen goods.
- Well, one night we were rather hard up and we wanted a good feed, so five or six of us set out, along with a great stout fellow, and we actually stole a whole sheep that was hanging at a butcher's door, and the big chap swagged it home.1869, Frank Henderson, Six years in the prisons of England, page 225
- To transport in the course of arrest.
- 17 I was cooking crack, turned Abz' flat to a science lab
18, when my door got banged
Like servery knows and throws them bags
Two handcuffs on the hands on a circle van when I got swagged
Seven day lost in cell, confinement, disobey lawful order2024 August 2, “Why” (3:03 from the start), VD/Dripz of 67 (lyrics)
- 17 I was cooking crack, turned Abz' flat to a science lab
Noun (4) capitalized: SWAG
SWAG (plural SWAGs)
- Initialism of scientific wild-ass guess; also speculative/sophisticated/stupid/some wild-ass guess Used humorously to indicate that an estimate was more of a guess than the result of any stringent data analysis.
- Near-synonyms: WAG, wild guess, uneducated guess, stab in the dark, shot in the dark; see also Thesaurus:supposition
- Synonyms:
- WAG, wild guess, uneducated guess, stab in the dark, shot in the dark, assumption, conjecture, foreguess, given, guess
Proper noun capitalized: SWAG
SWAG
Noun (5) capitalized: SWAG
SWAG (uncountable)
- Alternative form of swag (handouts, freebies)
Also used as
swag is also the alternative letter-case form of SWAG.
swag meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Bengali
swag in Hindi
- (slang) style; a fashionable appearance or manner
- स्वाग svāg, स्वैग svaig
swag in Tamil
- ஸ்வாகிங் செய்ய, ஸ்வாக் செய்ய, ஸ்வாகிங் செய்யுங்கள்
swag in Marathi
- स्वॅग करण्यासाठी, स्वॅग करा, स्वॅग करायला
swag in Bengali
- সোয়াগ করতে, সোয়াগ করার জন্য
More languagesFewer languages
- swag in Telugu
- స్వాగ్ చేయడానికి, స్వాగ్ చెయ్యడానికి
- swag in Malayalam
- സ്വാഗ് ചെയ്യാൻ, സ്വാഗ് ചെയ്യുവാനായി
- swag in Kannada
- ಸ್ವಾಗ್ ಮಾಡಲು
- swag in Gujarati
- સ્વેગ કરવા માટે
Examples of swag in a sentence
- We dropped our packs in the low swag and began ascending the steep sides of the "puzzle" mountain.1970, Harvey Broome, Earth Man, page 24:
- Sometimes men would get on either side of a gap or swag, set the dogs loose, and let them drive the deer through between them.1972 February 17, Foxfire Fund, Inc., The Foxfire Book: Hog Dressing, Log Cabin Building, Mountain Crafts and Foods, Planting by the Signs...
- ‘I understand that the district was considered a sort of sanctuary,’ the Chief was saying. ‘[…] They tell me there was a recognized swag market down here.’1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
- He was on his way to call on other dealers to check out their swag and to see if he could trade away some of his leftover odds and ends.1971 November 22, Frank E. Emerson, “They Can Get It For You BETTER Than Wholesale”, in New York Magazine, page 38:
Synonyms of swag
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of swag
| Verb | |
|---|---|
| third-person singular present | swags |
| present participle | swagging |
| past participle | swagged |
| past | swagged |
| Noun | |
| plural | swags |
| plural | SWAGs |
Origin of swag
Inherited from Middle English swagen, a late collateral form of *swawen possibly originating from Lancashire and Yorkshire (possibly continued in Scots swaw (“wave”); parallel to e.g. drag for draw), from Old Norse *svaga (“to swerve, sway”), of unclear origin. Compare dialectal Norwegian svaga (“to sway, swing, stagger”).
Clipping of swagger. A common folk etymology is that the word derives from an acronym for "she wants a gentleman", "secretly we are gay" or other phrases.
From 18th c. British thieves' slang, from the noun use of Etymology 1 above, "a swaying, an uneven motion." A folk etymology, particularly for the handouts definition, is “stuff we all get”.
Words formed from swag
Phrases with swag
Words that rhyme with swag
Questions about swag
- What does swag mean?
- Swag means to (cause to) sway.
- What is swag in Hindi?
- Swag in Hindi is स्वाग (svāg), स्वैग (svaig). See Swag meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use swag in a sentence?
- We dropped our packs in the low swag and began ascending the steep sides of the "puzzle" mountain.
- What part of speech is swag?
- Swag can be a verb, a noun or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce swag?
- Swag is pronounced /ˈswæɡ/.
- What is the past tense of swag?
- The past tense of swag is swagged.
Words near swag in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: swag (page history and authors); SWAG (page history and authors); swag (Tamil, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); swag (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); swag (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); swag (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); swag (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); swag (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); swag (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-swag.ogg.
Cite this entry: “swag.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/swag. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.