swear the peace
swear the peace verb: to swear legally (against someone) that one is in fear of physical violence from a person, in order that they be put under bond to keep the peace.
Verb
swear the peace (third-person singular simple present swears the peace, present participle swearing the peace, simple past swore the peace, past participle sworn the peace)
- To swear legally (against someone) that one is in fear of physical violence from a person, in order that they be put under bond to keep the peace.
- He […] told me he deſpiſed my threats; I had no reſource; I could not ſwear the peace againſt him!—I was not afraid of my life!—he had never ſtruck me!1798, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, “[Maria: or, The] Wrongs of Woman”, in W[illiam] Godwin, editor, Posthumous Works of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. […], volume II, London: […]...
Forms of swear the peace
| third-person singular present | swears the peace |
|---|---|
| present participle | swearing the peace |
| past | swore the peace |
| past participle | sworn the peace |
| alternative form | pray the peace |
Questions about swear the peace
- What does swear the peace mean?
- Swear the peace means to swear legally (against someone) that one is in fear of physical violence from a person, in order that they be put under bond to keep the peace.
- What part of speech is swear the peace?
- Swear the peace is a verb.
- What is the past tense of swear the peace?
- The past tense of swear the peace is swore the peace.
Words near swear the peace in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: swear the peace (page history and authors). 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.
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