swat

«swat» in Mova's school dictionary: to hit something, usually an insect, with a quick hard… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

verb (swat, swats, swatted, swatting); noun (a swat)

meaning for a pupil

1) To swat means to hit something, usually an insect, with a quick hard slap using your hand or a flat object. tree →

2) A swat is a quick hit like that. tree →

3) SWAT (in capitals) is a special police team in the USA. tree →

sense in the lessons

Everyday: people swat flies, mosquitoes and wasps; a «fly swatter» is a tool for this. Safety: do not swat at bees or wasps, because swatting can make them sting; stay calm and move away slowly. In stories a giant may swat people away like flies, showing great strength. Phrases: «swat a fly», «fly swatter», «swat away».

examples

• Dad swatted the fly with a rolled-up newspaper. tree →
• Don't swat at the wasp; just walk away slowly. tree →
• The cat swatted the string with its paw. tree →
• Grandma keeps a fly swatter in the kitchen. tree →
• The giant swatted the knights away like flies. tree →
• She swatted a mosquito on her arm. tree →

note

Double the t: «swatted, swatting». Do not confuse with «swot» (UK slang for someone who studies hard, or to study hard) or «sweat». Swatting at bees and wasps can make them sting.

In the corpora

• Elephants sometimes use tools, such as a stick to scratch an itch or a leafy branch to swat flies.
• Swatting at a bee or wasp makes a sting more likely.
• When a wasp flies near you, stay calm and move slowly away, because swatting makes a sting more likely.
• Move away slowly from a bee and do not swat it, because bees sting only when they feel threatened.
• If a wasp or bee comes near, you stay calm and move away slowly without swatting, because swatting makes stings more likely.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «swat» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.