swap

1 of 2

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 2

noun

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

Synonyms of swap

Relevance

Verb

Noun

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 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
Roberts had swapped Hernández and slumping Will Smith in the batting order, moving Hernández up to third and Smith down to fifth. — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026 Another good option is to enhance peanut butter toast’s nutritional value by adding and swapping out different toppings. — Trista Chan, HEALTH, 12 Oct. 2026
Noun
Investigators later determined that attackers gained control through a SIM swap involving the phone number associated with the SEC account. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2026 For Zeta-Jones, the gender swap was also the most appealing part of the role for her. — Abbey White, HollywoodReporter, 10 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

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 14 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

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
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of deportment

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All