Meaning & use
swots
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“swots” is a form of “swot”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nouncountabledisapproving
Students who work extremely hard at their studies, often to the exclusion of other activities; the word can be mildly mocking.
Grammar: Plural of swot; each person is a swot: two swots sat at the front.
Patterns
- a swot at something
The two swots in our class always had their homework finished a week early.
Nobody called Priya a swot to her face, but she did revise every night.
The library was full of swots before the final exams.
verbintransitive
Studies very hard, usually in a short period before a test, by going over material again and again.
Grammar: Third person singular form; usually used with up on or for: he swots up on dates.
Patterns
- swot up on something
- swot for something
Mina swots every evening before her chemistry tests.
He swots for a whole month before each exam.
My brother swots up on grammar rules the night before a quiz.
Word forms
| singular noun | swot |
|---|---|
| past tense | swotted |
| -ing form | swotting |
Common combinations
- swot up on
- I need to swot up on my French before the trip.
- swot for an exam
- Several of them are swotting for a physics exam tomorrow.
- a class swot
- He was the class swot and loved it.
- swot all night
- She swots all night when a deadline is close.
Synonyms and how they differ
- nerd
- Nerd stresses social awkwardness and intense interests, not just studying, and is wider than swot.
- bookworm
- Bookworm sounds warmer and focuses on a love of reading rather than working for grades.
- geek
- Geek points to deep enthusiasm for a subject like computers, and need not involve school at all.
- grind
- Grind is the common American word for a student who works relentlessly, and it sounds more negative.
Opposites
Word family
- swot noun
- one student who studies hard
- swotted verb
- past tense of swot
- swotting verb
- the act of studying intensively
- swotty adjective
- typical of a swot
Commonly confused: swots or swat?
swots vs swat
Swat means to hit something such as a fly with a flat object. It is not about studying, although it sounds similar.
Practice
The night before the history test, Omar stayed in his room to ______ up on the key dates.
Choose one answer.
Swot up on means to study hard on a topic. Swat is about hitting insects, so it fails here even though it sounds close.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “swots”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.