Meaning & use
swank
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Meanings
adjectivecomparableinformal
Expensive, fashionable and designed to impress, sometimes in a showy way.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after be: a swank hotel; the place was swank.
Patterns
- a swank place
- swank and expensive
They had dinner at a swank restaurant overlooking the harbor.
His swank apartment had a doorman and a rooftop pool.
The party was held in a swank club downtown.
noununcountableinformalold-fashioned
Showy behavior or style meant to impress others.
Grammar: No plural and no article: he did it with swank.
Patterns
- with swank
- a lot of swank
He arrived in a borrowed sports car, all swank and no money.
The hotel lobby was full of swank.
She cut through the swank of the evening with a joke.
verbintransitiveinformalold-fashioned
To show off or behave in a boastful, flashy way.
Grammar: No object: he swanked about town in his new coat.
Patterns
- swank about
- swank around
He swanked around the office in his new suit.
Stop swanking and help us carry these boxes.
She swanked about her holiday for weeks.
Word forms
| comparative | swanker |
|---|---|
| superlative | swankest |
| third person singular | swanks |
| past tense | swanked |
| -ing form | swanking |
Common combinations
- a swank hotel
- They spent the weekend in a swank hotel by the sea.
- swank restaurant
- The swank restaurant required a jacket.
- swank address
- He gave a swank address in the city center.
- swank party
- The swank party went on until dawn.
- swank neighborhood
- They moved to a swank neighborhood with tree-lined streets.
Synonyms and how they differ
- posh
- Posh is the common British word for upper-class and smart, while swank leans toward flashy display.
- swanky
- Swanky is the more usual adjective form, and swank used as an adjective is slightly less common.
- luxurious
- Luxurious is neutral praise for comfort and richness, while swank hints at showing off.
- fancy
- Fancy is a casual, general word for elaborate or expensive, with less sense of status than swank.
Opposites
Word family
- swanky adjective
- stylish and expensive, often in a showy way
- swankily adverb
- in a flashy, expensive manner
- swankiness noun
- the quality of being flashy and luxurious
Commonly confused: swank or swan?
swank vs swan
A swan is a large water bird; the two words look alike but are unrelated in meaning.
Practice
Which sentence uses swank correctly in its main sense?
Choose one answer.
Swank describes a stylish, expensive place. The other sentences use it as a verb or feeling in ways it does not carry.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “swank”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.