intransitive verb swung, swinging
- to sway or move backward and forward with regular movement, as a freely hanging object or a ship at anchor; oscillate
- to walk, trot, etc. with freely swaying, relaxed movements of the limbs
- to deliver or aim a blow; strike (at)
- to turn or pivot, as on a hinge or swivel: the door swung open
- to move in a curve, esp. in order to go around something: the driver swung around the stalled car
- to hang; be suspended
- Informal to be put to death by hanging
- to move backward and forward on a swing ()
- ☆ to have an exciting rhythmic quality: music that really swings
- ☆ Slang to be ultra-fashionable, sophisticated, active, etc., esp. in the pursuit of pleasure
- Slang
- to engage in casual sexual relations, esp. in an open, deliberate way
- to exchange partners with other couples and engage in sexual activity: said esp. of married couples
Origin:
ME swingen < OE swingan, akin to Ger schwingen, to brandish < IE base *sweng-, to curve, swing