Meaning & use
swipe
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To pass a card through a reader, or to slide a finger across a touch screen.
Grammar: Often takes an object (swipe a card) or goes with a direction (swipe left).
Patterns
- swipe a card
- swipe left
Swipe your card at the gate to enter.
She swiped left to see the next photo.
He swiped through his messages while waiting.
verbintransitive
To hit or reach at something with a quick sweeping arm movement.
Grammar: Often followed by at: the cat swiped at the string.
Patterns
- swipe at something
The cat swiped at the toy with its paw.
He swiped at a fly but missed.
The boxer swiped at his opponent's head.
verbtransitiveinformal
To steal something quickly and casually.
Grammar: Takes an object: someone swiped my umbrella.
Patterns
- swipe something from someone
Someone swiped my lunch from the fridge.
He swiped a cookie from the plate when nobody looked.
The kids swiped a few apples from the neighbor's tree.
nouncountable
A quick sweeping movement of the hand or arm, or a short sharp criticism.
Grammar: Often a swipe at someone or something.
Patterns
- take a swipe at someone
The cat took a swipe at my hand.
The senator took a swipe at her rival's policies.
One swipe of the cloth cleaned the screen.
Word forms
| third person singular | swipes |
|---|---|
| past tense | swiped |
| past participle | swiped |
| -ing form | swiping |
| plural | swipes |
Common combinations
- swipe a card
- Please swipe a card to pay.
- swipe left
- You swipe left to dismiss the alert.
- swipe right
- Swipe right to open the camera.
- swipe at
- The bear swiped at the branch.
- take a swipe at
- The comedian took a swipe at the mayor.
Synonyms and how they differ
- slide
- Slide is broader and does not suggest a quick movement across a reader or screen.
- pinch
- Pinch is a British informal word for steal that sounds slightly more playful than swipe.
- nick
- Nick is British slang for stealing, while swipe is understood in both American and British English.
- lift
- Lift implies taking something quietly and neatly, while swipe stresses speed.
Opposites
Word family
- swiper noun
- informal word for a person who takes things
- swipe file noun
- a collection of examples kept for ideas
- swipeable adjective
- able to be moved by swiping
Commonly confused: swipe or wipe?
swipe vs wipe
Wipe means to rub a surface to clean it, while swipe is a quicker sweeping or sliding movement.
Practice
To open the door, you must ___ your ID card through the reader.
Choose one answer.
Swipe is the normal verb for passing a card through a reader. Wipe means to clean, and the others are not used in this situation.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “swipe”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.