I. ˈswüp verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: alteration of Middle English swopen to sweep, from Old English swāpan to sweep, swing, drive, rush; akin to Old High German sweifan to swing around, coil, Old Norse sveipa to sweep, swoop, wrap up, swatha to swathe — more at swathe
intransitive verb
1.
a. obsolete : to move haughtily especially in trailing robes
b. : to move rapidly or graze in passing : brush , sweep
swooped by the table and glanced at the papers that lay there — John Steinbeck
the wind will be swooping up … from the lake — J.J.Godwin
2.
a. : to make a sudden attack : descend , pounce
arming and preparing to swoop — Dorothy Thompson
— usually used with down
wind and snow swooped down upon him — Robert Murphy
fixed newcomers with an eagle eye, swooped down upon them and demanded their names — American Guide Series: Rhode Island
b. : to plunge suddenly or move in a sweeping arc : dip , veer
seagulls and cranes wheel and swoop — Geographical School Bulletin
ladies in tights … swooping through the air over our heads — Mary Deasy
boat swooped to the rise and fall of the waves — R.S.Porteous
c. : to come down : alight , drop
swooped down before the fire — F.C.Burnand
in little more than an hour one may swoop down from winter to summer — John Muir †1914
transitive verb
1.
a. : to dislodge or remove abruptly : carry off : sweep
the whirlwind's blast … swoops the haycocks off the lea — William Tennant
British Intelligence … swooped him off to London — J.P.O'Donnell
b. : to seize or capture unexpectedly : catch , snatch
swooped her off the swing into his arms — Helen Howe
c. : to draw in : swallow , suck
swooped in a hot swallow, then aired his mouth — Helen Rich
2. : to describe a sweeping arc with
storks swoop white streaks … against the luminous blue — Claudia Cassidy
II. noun
( -s )
: an act or instance of swooping: as
a. : the swift plummeting of a bird on its prey : pounce , stoop
even as the fish's head fell from the crocodile's munching mouth there was a swoop of white wings — Francis Birtles
b. : a concentrated effort or attack : exertion , stroke
baggage can … be pushed off onto the pier in one swoop — New York Times
all my pretty chickens and their dam at one fell swoop — Shakespeare
c. : a sudden incursion : descent , grab
a swoop of security officers on a Communist espionage ring — Whittaker Chambers
bring evacuees out to … ships in as few swoops as possible — Time
d. : an undulating line or movement : dip , festoon
swallows … fluttered in graceful swoops in and out — Nora Waln
the swoop and curl of the road up … from the plain — John Connell