/ swuːp; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb [ v ]
1.
[usually + adv. / prep. ] ( of a bird or plane ) to fly quickly and suddenly downwards, especially in order to attack sb/sth
SYN dive :
The aircraft swooped down over the buildings.
2.
swoop (on sb/sth) ( especially of police or soldiers ) to visit or attack sb/sth suddenly and without warning
■ noun
1.
an act of moving suddenly and quickly through the air in a downward direction, as a bird does
SYN dive
2.
swoop (on sth/sb) an act of arriving somewhere or attacking sth/sb in a way that is sudden and unexpected
SYN raid :
Large quantities of drugs were found during a police swoop on the star's New York home.
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IDIOMS
see fell adjective
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WORD ORIGIN
mid 16th cent. (in the sense sweep along in a stately manner ): perhaps a dialect variant of Old English swāpan , of Germanic origin. The early sense of the noun was a blow, stroke .