1407
swim
sweet·bread /'swi:tbred/ n an organ (the PANCREAS or
THYMUS) from a sheep or young cow, used as food
'sweet corn BrE || corn especially AmE — n [U] (the tender
young seed of) a sweet type of MAIZE
sweet·en /'swi:tən/ v 1 [I;T] to make or become sweeter:
Shall I sweeten your coffee? (=by adding sugar to it) 2 [T] to
make kinder, gentler etc; soften: A good meal sweetened his
temper. 3 [T(UP)] infml to give money or presents to in order to
persuade: They'll have to be sweetened (up) if we want them to
award us the contract.
,sweetened con'densed milk n [U] AmE for CONDENSED
MILK
sweet·ener /'swi:tənə/ n 1 a (piece of a) substance used to
sweeten food and drink, especially instead of sugar: She
usually uses honey as a sweetener rather than sugar. | a packet
of artificial sweeteners 2 infml something given or offered in
order to persuade someone, especially in a way that is not
open and honest: These tax cuts are just a pre-election sweet-
ener.
sweet FA /,swi:t ef 'ei/ also ,sweet ,Fanny 'Adams n
[U] BrE euph nothing at all: 'How much did they pay you for
that job?' 'Sweet FA' (euph for sweet fuck-all taboo)
,sweet 'gum n a common North American tree with fairly
large five-pointed leaves, hard wood, and seeds like prickly
balls
sweet·heart /'swi:thɑ:t||-hɑ:rt/ n 1 a person whom one
loves: They were sweethearts for ten years before they married.
→ see also CHILDHOOD SWEETHEART 2 a) (used when
speaking to someone you love or to a member of your
family): Don't cry, sweetheart. b) (used informally as a
friendly form of address, especially by or to a woman): What
can I get you, sweetheart? (=said e.g. by a person working in a
shop or a restaurant)
sweet·ie /'swi:ti/ n 1 BrE infml (used especially by and to
children) a SWEET 2 infml an attractive lovable little person or
thing: Look at that little dog; isn't he a sweetie! 3 AmE sweet-
heart
'sweetie pie n AmE sweetheart
sweet·meat /'swi:tmi:t/ n old use a sweet or any food made
of or preserved in sugar
sweetness and 'light n [U] friendliness; pleasantness,
especially when not a usual part of someone's character:
She's all sweetness and light when she's talking to her mother-
in-law.
sweet 'nothings n [P] humor things said by lovers to each
other: He spent the whole evening whispering sweet nothings
in her ear.
sweet 'pea n a climbing plant with sweet-smelling flowers
sweet 'pepper also Bell pepper AmE — n a GREEN PEPPER
or one of the less strong forms of RED PEPPER → see also
PEPPER
sweet po'tato also yam AmE — n a vegetable which looks
similar to a potato but has bright orange flesh, and is the root
of a tropical climbing plant; often eaten at THANKSGIVING in
the US
sweet 'roll n AmE for DANISH PASTRY
sweet ,talk n [U] infml insincere talk intended to please or
persuade; FLATTERY
sweet-talk v [T] infml to (try to) persuade by charming
insincere talk or FLATTERY
sweet 'tooth n [S] infml a liking for things that are sweet and
sugary
swell¹ /swel/ v swelled, swollen /'swəulən/ or
swelled 1 [I(UP)] to gradually increase in fullness and round-
ness to beyond the usual or original size: Her ankle swelled
(up) (=became swollen) after the fall. | (fig.) His heart swelled
with pride as he watched his daughter win the race. 2 [T] to
increase the size or amount of: We asked them to come to the
meeting to swell the numbers. | The newly-arrived refugees
swelled the ranks of (=added to the number of) the unem-
ployed in the big city. 3 [I;T (OUT)] to fill or be filled, giving a
full round shape: The wind swelled (out) the sails. | The sails
swelled (out) in the wind.
swell² n 1 [S] the rolling movement of large stretches of the
sea up and down, without separate waves: There's a very
heavy swell today, so we're not going sailing. 2 [S] an
increase of musical sound; CRESCENDO 3 [S] roundness and
fullness: the firm swell of her breasts 4 [C] old-fash infml a
fashionable or important person
swell³ adj AmE old-fash infml very good; excellent: What a swell
idea!
swell·ing /'swelɪŋ/ n 1 [C] a swollen place on the body: I
had a nasty swelling on my foot. 2 [U] the condition of being
swollen: Their bites can cause swelling.
swel·ter /'sweltə/ v [I] (of a person) to experience the
effects of great heat: We had to sit and swelter in the class-
room while our friends were down at the beach.
swel·ter·ing /'sweltərɪŋ/ adj unpleasantly hot: Open a win-
dow; it's sweltering in here!
swept /swept/ past tense & participle of SWEEP
,swept-'back adj having the front edge pointing backwards
at an angle from the main part: swept-back hair | an aircraft
with swept-back wings
swerve¹ /swɜːv||swɜːrv/ v [I] 1 to turn suddenly to one side
(when moving along): The car swerved to the right. | A dog
ran in front of the car and we swerved to avoid it. 2 [(from)
usually in negatives] to change from an idea or purpose: I will
never swerve from my declared policy on this matter.
swerve² n a swerving movement: a sudden swerve to the left
swift¹ /swift/ adj 1 especially lit moving or able to move at
great speed, especially without effort; fast: a swift run-
ner 2 ready or quick in action; PROMPT: a swift reply | The
President promised swift and effective retribution against the
terrorists. | [F+to-v] They have been swift to deny these
rumours. —ly adv —ness n [U]
swift² n a small brown fast-flying bird with pointed wings,
similar to a SWALLOW
Swift, Graham (1949–) a British writer whose best-known
novels are Waterland and Last Orders. Both books have been
made into successful films, and Last Orders won the Booker
Prize in 1996.
Swift, Jon·a·than /'dʒɒnəθən||'dʒɑː-/ (1667–1745) an Irish
writer who is best known for his book GULLIVER'S TRAVELS
but who also wrote many other SATIRICAL stories and clever
articles, in which he used humour to criticize institutions
such as the universities, the legal profession, and the politi-
cal parties. He was also a priest in the Church of England,
and became Dean (=a high-ranking priest) of St Patrick's
Cathedral in Dublin. Because of this, he is sometimes called
'Dean Swift'.
swig /swɪg/ v -gg- [T] infml to drink, especially quickly in
large mouthfuls: They just sat there swigging beer all night.
—swig n: He took a swig of beer.
swill¹ /swɪl/ v 1 [T(OUT, DOWN)] to wash (an area) by pouring
large amounts of water; FLUSH: Get a bucket and swill the
yard (down). 2 [I;T] derog to drink, especially carelessly and
in large amounts: They just sat in the pub swilling (beer) all
night.
swill² n 1 [U] pig food, mostly uneaten human food in partly
liquid form 2 [S] an act of washing a place with large
amounts of water
swim¹ /swɪm/ v swam /swæm/, swum /swʌm/; present partic-
iple swimming 1 [I] to move oneself through water by using
the arms and legs, a tail, FINS etc: We're all going swimming. |
She's teaching the children to swim. | They watched the fish
swimming in the aquarium. | Some snakes can swim. → see
also BACKSTROKE, BREASTSTROKE, BUTTERFLY, CRAWL, DIVE,
DOG PADDLE, SIDESTROKE 2 [T] to cross or complete (a
distance) by doing this: to swim a river/100 metres 3 [T] to
use (a particular stroke) in swimming: She can swim breast-
stroke, backstroke, and crawl. 4 [I(with, in)] to be full of or
surrounded with liquid: The soup was swimming with fat. |
meat swimming in gravy 5 [I] to cause one to feel DIZZY;
seem to spin round and round: He was hot and tired and his
head was swimming. 6 swim with/against the tide to
follow/not follow the behaviour of other people around one
→ see also sink or swim (SINK) —mer n: She's a strong
swimmer.
swim² n 1 [S] an act or occasion of swimming: Let's go for a
swim! 2 in the swim infml knowing about and concerned
with what is going on in modern life