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swan
1[swon]
noun
any of several large, stately aquatic birds of the subfamily Anserinae, having a long, slender neck and usually pure-white plumage in the adult.
a person or thing of unusual beauty, excellence, purity, or the like.
Literary.a person who sings sweetly or a poet.
Astronomy.Swan, the constellation Cygnus.
swan
2[swon]
verb (used without object)
Midland and Southern U.S. Older Use.to swear or declare (used withI ).
Well, I swan, I never expected to see you here!
Swan
3[swon]
noun
Sir Joseph Wilson, 1828–1914, British chemist, electrical engineer, and inventor.
swan
1/ ɒ /
noun
any large aquatic bird of the genera Cygnus and Coscoroba, having a long neck and usually a white plumage: family Anatidae, order Anseriformes
rare
a poet
( capital when part of a title or epithet )
the Swan of Avon (Shakespeare)
verb
informal(intr; usually foll by around or about) to wander idly
Swan
2/ ɒ /
noun
a river in SW Western Australia, rising as the Avon northeast of Narrogin and flowing northwest and west to the Indian Ocean below Perth. Length: about 240 km (150 miles)
Swan
3/ ɒ /
noun
Sir Joseph Wilson. 1828–1914, English physicist and chemist, who developed the incandescent electric light (1880) independently of Edison
Other Word Forms
- swanlike adjective
- ˈɲˌ adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of swan1
Origin of swan2
Word History and Origins
Origin of swan1
Example Sentences
It’s like a swan glides across the water beautifully, but the legs are going rapidly underneath.
But whether Eve’s inner black swan will win out over her white one is never in question.
Odile woos the crown prince, but a murder at court forces her to seek out assistance from the muted swan.
The judges liberally doled out scores of 10 to the performers, who swanned deftly across the parquet flooring in colorful, “Alice in Wonderland”-inspired costumes.
A “black swan” moment — a tipping point for justice — is approaching.
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