swift

CEFRC1

/swɪft/

adjective · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Moving or happening quickly.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Capable of moving at high speeds.

Examples

  • Shareholders were concerned about the company's swift expansion overseas.

  • The swallow is swift in flight.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Quick-thinking; bright.

  2. Fast; quick; rapid.

noun

Extra meaning

  1. A small plain-colored bird of the family Apodidae that resembles a swallow and is noted for its rapid flight.

More examples

In context

  • swift action

  • swift recovery

  • swift response

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The blank cheetah ran faster than any other animal on the plain.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

From Middle English swift, from Old English swift (“swift; quick”), from Proto-Germanic *swiftaz (“swift; quick”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)weyp- (“to twist; wind around”). Cognate with Icelandic svipta (“to pull quickly”), Old English swīfan (“to revolve, sweep, wend, intervene”). More at swivel.