swap

1 of 3

verb

ˈswäp How to pronounce swap (audio)
swapped; swapping
Synonyms of swapnext

transitive verb

1
a
: to give in trade : barter
b
: exchange sense 2
2
: to take turns in telling
swap stories

intransitive verb

: to make an exchange
swapper noun

swap

2 of 3

noun (1)

: an act, instance, or process of exchanging one thing for another

swapper

3 of 3

noun (2)

swap·​per
ˈswäpə(r), 
-wȯp-
plural -s
: one that swaps

Synonyms of swap

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Verb

Noun (1)

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of swap in a Sentence

Verb He swapped his cupcake for a candy bar. I swapped seats with my sister so she could see the stage better. I liked her blue notebook and she liked my red one, so we swapped. Noun (1) They made the swap in secret. we made a swap: I'll do the dishes tonight and she'll do them for me tomorrow
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
The Falcons swapped veteran quarterbacks on their 53-man roster, signing Andy Dalton and releasing Cooper Rush, the team announced Monday. — Daniel Flick, AJC.com, 19 Oct. 2026 Once the animals had learned to associate each of the six scents with a particular reward location, researchers started swapping the scent-location pairs. — Sean McCabe, Hartford Courant, 18 Oct. 2026
Noun
The neoclound computing firm saw its stock tumble and credit default swaps surge recently. — Jason Ma, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2026 Perhaps even more concerning than the stock rout has been the jump in CoreWeave corporate bond yields and spike in credit default swaps , a kind of insurance policy on debt. — Alexa Lomonaco, CNBC, 17 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for swap

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English swappen to strike; from the practice of striking hands in closing a business deal

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun (1)

1625, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of swap was in the 14th century

Phrases Containing swap

Rhymes for swap

See All Rhymes for swap

Browse Nearby Words

swan-upping
swap
swape
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Swap.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/swap. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Kids Definition

swap

verb
ˈswäp
swapped; swapping
: to give in exchange : make an exchange : trade
swap noun

Legal Definition

swap

noun
ˈswäp
1
: an exchange of securities
2
: a derivative contract in which two parties (as corporations) agree to exchange rates especially relating to debt
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