as in smacking
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner
didn't sleep a wink all night because she was too busy swatting mosquitoes
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Recent Examples of swatting
This all-new podcast takes listeners to the small town of Elberton, GA and on a wild ride through granite quarries, graves, cults, Confederate monuments, a swatting raid, and A LOT of explosives.
—
Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 21 Apr. 2026
City are a bigger, stronger team than Chelsea in almost every position, and those advantages manifested clearly in Nico O’Reilly swatting Andrey Santos aside to nod in their first goal and Jeremy Doku bustling Moises Caicedo off the ball to run through and smash in their third.
—Liam Twomey, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2026
The American military, despite its unrivaled power, has trouble swatting down swarms of cheap drones.
—Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 9 Apr. 2026
Experts advise moving slowly away from the area, avoiding sudden movements or swatting and seeking shelter indoors or in a vehicle if necessary.
—Rey Covarrubias Jr, AZCentral.com, 29 Mar. 2026
The officer then runs through the brush, swatting branches aside and calling out to the man.
—Siafa Lewis, CBS News, 27 Mar. 2026
Mhoon locked in on defense, swatting away shots as TKA’s rim protector while coming up with huge rebounds.
—Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2026
After Hadel pushes Brown back once, Brown is shown swatting at him again.
—Mathew Schumer, Baltimore Sun, 5 Mar. 2026
Over the course of the last six months, McBrien and the AJC team traveled to the small town of Elberton for an investigation that led them to granite quarries, graves, a swatting raid and a deep dive in explosives.
—Hugo Rojo, AJC.com, 3 Mar. 2026
Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 21 Apr. 2026
City are a bigger, stronger team than Chelsea in almost every position, and those advantages manifested clearly in Nico O’Reilly swatting Andrey Santos aside to nod in their first goal and Jeremy Doku bustling Moises Caicedo off the ball to run through and smash in their third.
—Liam Twomey, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2026
The American military, despite its unrivaled power, has trouble swatting down swarms of cheap drones.
—Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 9 Apr. 2026
Experts advise moving slowly away from the area, avoiding sudden movements or swatting and seeking shelter indoors or in a vehicle if necessary.
—Rey Covarrubias Jr, AZCentral.com, 29 Mar. 2026
The officer then runs through the brush, swatting branches aside and calling out to the man.
—Siafa Lewis, CBS News, 27 Mar. 2026
Mhoon locked in on defense, swatting away shots as TKA’s rim protector while coming up with huge rebounds.
—Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2026
After Hadel pushes Brown back once, Brown is shown swatting at him again.
—Mathew Schumer, Baltimore Sun, 5 Mar. 2026
Over the course of the last six months, McBrien and the AJC team traveled to the small town of Elberton for an investigation that led them to granite quarries, graves, a swatting raid and a deep dive in explosives.
—Hugo Rojo, AJC.com, 3 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swatting
Verb
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The flashes were caused by rocky objects smacking into the lunar surface, and the astronauts’ observations of them caused scientists in Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center to erupt in cheers.—
Denise Chow,
NBC news,
23 Apr. 2026
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De Kock smashed eight boundaries and seven sixes and Dhir complemented his South African teammate by smacking three fours and three sixes in the century partnership.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
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That passion to play every moment to the hilt, along with her powerful hitting stroke, that came with being a coach’s daughter.—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
30 Apr. 2026
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Horner told a false story about hitting the little girl with his van and then strangling her in a panic, according to testimony of the case’s lead investigator, Texas Ranger Job Espinoza.—
Harriet Ramos,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The movie's December 2022 release was largely overshadowed by the aftermath of Smith slapping Chris Rock on stage at that year's Academy Awards.—
Staff Author,
PEOPLE,
27 Apr. 2026
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This is simply slapping lipstick on a pig and, once again, taking no accountability.—
Zach Dean OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar quickly responded on X, slamming his Ukrainian counterpart for conducting diplomacy on social media.—
Yuliya Talmazan,
NBC news,
28 Apr. 2026
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Trump’s remarks came hours after the first lady released a statement slamming Kimmel for the comment.—
Sydney Topf,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Business Insider previously obtained an internal document that described damage to one data center knocking 14 EC2 cloud server racks offline, in addition to impacting five other server racks.—
Jeremy Hsu,
ArsTechnica,
1 May 2026
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Tollinche allegedly antagonizes people on the social media platform, and neighborhood teens have recently been gathering outside his home, knocking on his door and calling him out, according to police.—
Aaron Katersky,
ABC News,
1 May 2026
Verb
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The behavior of a suspect in the murders of two University of South Florida students from Bangladesh worsened over time from marijuana use, family members told deputies after his arrest three years ago for punching his brother in the face and kicking his mother in the back.—
Mike Schneider,
The Orlando Sentinel,
29 Apr. 2026
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Ryan said Horner later confessed to punching and kicking the child in the head.—
Harriet Ramos,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Jurors then heard sounds of banging and choking — and Athena screaming and crying, the Star-Telegram reports.—
Christina Coulter,
PEOPLE,
27 Apr. 2026
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On the night he was arrested, Martinez confessed to shaking Heather and banging her head against a crib, but later recanted that confession.—
Shelly Bradbury,
Denver Post,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
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But, really, just being on the island feels like meditative wellness, including taking a golf club and a biodegradable ball from the island shop and whacking it into the sea.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 Apr. 2026
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Ultimately, the Yanks would spend 2 hours and 45 minutes on the court, meaning 2023 champion Tiafoe, who had prevailed in two previous marathons, wound up whacking balls for eight-plus hours in his ultimately futile bid for reach a fourth consecutive final here.—
Dale Robertson,
Houston Chronicle,
4 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Swatting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swatting. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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