1. Move or walk in a swinging or swaying manner
   "He swung back";
   - sway
    
2. Move in a curve or arc, usually with the intent of hitting
   "He swung his left fist"; "swing a bat"
    
3. Change direction with a swinging motion; turn
   "swing back"; "swing forward"
    
4. Make a big sweeping gesture or movement
   "The dancer swung out her arms gracefully";
   - sweep, swing out
    
5. Hang loosely
   "the ornaments swung from the tree";
   - dangle, drop
    
6. Hit or aim at with a sweeping arm movement
   "The soccer player began to swing at the referee"
    
7. Alternate dramatically between high and low values
   "his mood swings"; "the market is swinging up and down"
    
8. Have a certain musical rhythm
   "The music has to swing"
    
9. (music) play with a subtle and intuitively felt sense of rhythm
   "The jazz band swung effortlessly through the classic tune"
    
10. Live in a lively, modern, and relaxed style
    "The Woodstock generation attempted to swing freely"
     
11. Be a social swinger; socialize a lot
    "In his youth, he swung with the jazz crowd in New Orleans";
    - get around, get round
     
12. Influence decisively
    "This action swung many votes over to his side";
    - swing over
     
13. [vulgar] Engage freely in promiscuous sex, often with the husband or wife of one's friends
    "There were many swinging couples in the 1960's"

1. Changing location by moving back and forth
   "The pendulum's steady swing marked the passage of time";
   - swinging, vacillation
    
2. Mechanical device used as a plaything to support someone swinging back and forth
   "The children took turns pushing each other on the swing in the park"
    
3. A sweeping blow or stroke
   "he took a wild swing at my head"
    
4. A state of steady vigorous action that is characteristic of an activity
   "the party went with a swing"; "it took time to get into the swing of things"
    
5. A style of jazz played by big bands popular in the 1930s; flowing rhythms but less complex than later styles of jazz
   "Benny Goodman's orchestra was known for its swing music hits";
   - swing music, jive
    
6. A jaunty rhythm in music
   "The song had a cheerful swing that made people want to dance";
   - lilt
    
7. The act of swinging a golf club at a golf ball and (usually) hitting it
   "His precise swing landed the ball close to the pin";
   - golf stroke, golf shot
    
8. In baseball; a batter's attempt to hit a pitched ball
   "he took a vicious swing at the ball"; "His powerful baseball swing sent the ball over the outfield fence";
   - baseball swing, cut
    
9. A square dance figure; a pair of dancers join hands and dance around a point between them
   "The caller instructed the dancers to do a swing with their partners"

Derived forms: swung, swang, swings, swinging

Type of: act upon, action, activeness, activity, aim, blow, change, contra danse, contradance, contredanse, country dance, country dancing, direct, displace, go, handle, hang, influence, jazz, live, locomote, manage, mechanical device, motion, move, move back and forth, movement, play, plaything, rhythmicity, shot, socialise [Brit], socialize, sound, stroke, take, take aim, toy, train, travel, wield, work

Part of: playground, square dance, square dancing

Encyclopedia: Swing, Swang, Swung