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swack

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swack¹

  • /swæk/

Rhymes with -æk

Where it comes from

From Middle English swac (“weak”), possibly borrowed via Scots swack, ultimately from Old English *swæc (found in derivative swæcehēow (“weakmindedness, nonsense”)), from Proto-West Germanic *swak (“weak”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian swäk, West Frisian swak, Dutch zwak, German Low German swack, German schwach, Norwegian Bokmål svak.

adjective swacker · swackest

  1. Scotland Lithe; nimble. Matthew advanced to the foot of the stairs and whistled. The signal had been expected, for presently he was joined by a swack youth of about eighteen years, who carried a couple of long salmon-spears.

    Similar: gracile, svelte, willowy

swack²

  • /swæk/

Rhymes with -æk

Where it comes from

Unknown. Speculatively, may be an extension of the sharp blow sense. Compare whack in the sense of "large portion of something".

noun swacks

  1. slang A large number or amount of something. She gave me a swack of books.

swack³

  • /swæk/

Rhymes with -æk

Where it comes from

Considered dialect by Wright, but now widespread. Scottish National Dictionary proposes an origin in Old Scots (Middle English) swak ("to throw violently"). Compare Scots swak, swack (“to throw with violent force, dash", also "a hard blow or whack”). Compare also Middle Dutch swacken (“to shake, wave”).

noun swacks

  1. countable, uncountable A sharp blow. My eighteen holes was simply a long ride in a golfmobile, with me stopping far too many times to take a swack at the ball.
  2. countable, uncountable The sound of a sharp blow. The ball flew between them at incredible speed, hitting off their pads with a swack! that could be heard clearly above the steady splattering of the rain.
  3. countable, uncountable A wet sound such as a loud kiss. And Cyndi Lauper is ecstatic, first leaping up in the air and then, for good measure, racing over to give Fabulous Moolah a swack for good luck.
  4. countable, uncountable A striking stimulus. An area rug can supply the zing of pattern or a swack of color to a room that languishes from blandness .
  5. countable, uncountable An attack, a swipe. Nothing to say, the oilcloth moans under the swack of Mother's sponge.
  6. countable, uncountable A single attempt or instance of taking action; a crack; a go. We are certainly delighted to see you take another swack at microfilm and are sending our Chapter 14 on the subject.
  7. uncountable Clout; influence. You have more swack with their management than they do, the same way you have more swack with foreign leaders than any of the Ambassadors that you talked to.
  8. countable, uncountable A gulp or hearty swallow. What the French criticize," says Le Monde, after a swack at Coca-Cola,“ is not so much Coca-Cola, as its orchestration, less the drink itself than the civilization of which it is a mark and the symbol.

verb swacks · swacking · swacked

  1. To slap or hit. When Oscar charged the tyrant Loth, Their spears both in flinders flew; Syne swacked they swords in deidly wroth, But a churl behind King Oscar slew!
  2. To make a swack (sound). "Rose" looked upon him with unfriendly eye, as his swacking bill-hook would be likely to affright her game.
  3. To consume with hearty enjoyment. At any rate, motoring is not even as you were ”before the war, but a good deal further behind in many respects, buoyed up only by the enthusiasm of released automobilists and neomotorists swacking their fill of new post-war delights.
  4. To labour; to exert an effort. Morgan was out of sight as usual, swacking away in the engine room.

adverb more swack · most swack

  1. With a swack, to the point of touching. Pulling away, Brennan felt his shin swack against Glass's shin, but Glass kept moving.

swack⁴

  • /swæk/

Rhymes with -æk

noun swacks

  1. A bum or petty thief. Jake explained it to her: “A swack started it, at the last show one night in Hoquiam,” he said. “I just happened to notice it, and so after that I've planted a couple of stagehands in the audience for Hen-Tooth's act every show, to start it again.

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MLA

"swack." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/swack. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

swack. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/swack

Chicago

"swack." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/swack.

BibTeX
@misc{swack_2026,
  title = {swack},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/swack},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}