Meaning & use
one fell swoop
In a single action or occurrence; all at once, without separate steps.
See it in a sentence
The new policy eliminated three outdated procedures in one fell swoop.
She answered all twenty emails in one fell swoop before lunch.
A note on using this word
The phrase comes from Shakespeare's Macbeth, where 'fell' means fierce or deadly, not the past tense of 'fall'.
Words with a similar meaning
all at once
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
Make it your own
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