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SWIFT
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Common western lizard; seen on logs or rocks
Synonyms:
blue-belly; Sceloporus occidentalis; swift; western fence lizard
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("swift" is a kind of...):
fence lizard (spiny lizard often seen basking on fences in the United States and northern Mexico)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A small bird that resembles a swallow and is noted for its rapid flight
Classified under:
Nouns denoting animals
Hypernyms ("swift" is a kind of...):
apodiform bird (nonpasserine bird having long wings and weak feet; spends much of its time in flight)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "swift"):
Apus apus; European swift (common European bird with a shrieking call that nests chiefly about eaves of buildings or on cliffs)
Chateura pelagica; chimney swallow; chimney swift (American swift that nests in e.g. unused chimneys)
Collocalia inexpectata; swiftlet (swift of eastern Asia; produces the edible bird's nest)
Holonyms ("swift" is a member of...):
Apodidae; family Apodidae (swifts; in former classifications included in the order Coraciiformes)
Derivation:
swiftlet (swift of eastern Asia; produces the edible bird's nest)
Sense 3
Meaning:
An English satirist born in Ireland (1667-1745)
Synonyms:
Dean Swift; Jonathan Swift; Swift
Classified under:
Instance hypernyms:
ironist; ridiculer; satirist (a humorist who uses ridicule and irony and sarcasm)
Sense 4
Meaning:
United States meat-packer who began the use of refrigerated railroad cars (1839-1903)
Synonyms:
Gustavus Franklin Swift; Swift
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Instance hypernyms:
meat packer; packer (a wholesaler in the meat-packing business)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Moving very fast
Example:
a swift runner
Synonyms:
fleet; swift
Classified under:
Similar:
fast (acting or moving or capable of acting or moving quickly)
Derivation:
swiftness (a rate (usually rapid) at which something happens)
Context examples:
According to one research team using data spanning from infrared radiation to gamma rays from Swift and other observatories, this transformation best explains the Cow's behavior.
(Mysterious Blast Studied with NASA Telescopes, NASA)
Both swift and powerful, millions of complement components can deposit on an invading microbe within only a few minutes.
(Complement Component Gene, NCI Thesaurus)
She is swift in making up her mind and fearless in carrying out her resolutions.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
We slipped along the hedges, noiseless and swift, nor did we see or hear anything to increase our terrors, till, to our relief, the door of the Admiral Benbow had closed behind us.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
There was a leap, swifter than his unpractised sight, and the lean, yellow body disappeared for a moment out of the field of his vision.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
Sitka Charley looked at me in swift surprise, then back at the picture.
(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)
NASA's Swift satellite has monitored Mrk 335 for years, and recently noted a dramatic change in its X-ray brightness.
(NuSTAR sees rare blurring of black hole light, NASA)
When Swift mission turned to the galaxy shortly after Fermi’s gamma-ray burst detection, it found a bright and quickly fading ultraviolet (UV) source.
(NASA Missions Catch First Light from a Gravitational-Wave Event, NASA)
The Irish Setter is swift, with an acute sense of smell.
(Irish Setter, NCI Thesaurus)
“An attack of brain-fever, for example?” asked the statesman, flashing a swift glance at him.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
