swathe

swathe
[[t]swe͟ɪð, AM swɑ͟ːð[/t]]
swathes, swathing, swathed
(The noun is also spelled swath.)
1) N-COUNT: usu N of n A swathe of land is a long strip of land.

On May 1st the army took over another swathe of territory...

Year by year great swathes of this small nation's countryside disappear.

2) N-COUNT: usu N of n A swathe of cloth is a long strip of cloth, especially one that is wrapped around someone or something.

...swathes of white silk.

3) VERB To swathe someone or something in cloth means to wrap them in it completely.

[V n in n] She swathed her enormous body in thin black fabrics...

[V-ed] His head was swathed in bandages made from a torn sheet.

4) PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n If a person or thing cuts a swathe through something, they pass through it causing great destruction or change.

The storm cut a swathe through southern England...

Keegan's team have been cutting an irresistible swathe through the first division.


English dictionary. 2008.

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  • Swathe — Swathe, n. A bandage; a band; a swath. [1913 Webster] Wrapped me in above an hundred yards of swathe. Addison. [1913 Webster] Milk and a swathe, at first, his whole demand. Young. [1913 Webster] The solemn glory of the afternoon, with its long… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Swathe — (sw[=a][th]), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Swathed} (sw[=a][th]d); p. pr. & vb. n. {Swathing}.] [OE. swathen, AS. swe[eth]ain. See {Swath}, n., and cf. {Swaddle}.] To bind with a swathe, band, bandage, or rollers. [1913 Webster] Their children are never… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • swathe in — ˈswathe in [transitive] [present tense I/you/we/they swathe in he/she/it swathes in present participle swathing in past tense swathed in pas …   Useful english dictionary

  • swathe — O.E. swaþian to swathe, from swaðu track, trace, band (see SWATH (Cf. swath)). The noun meaning infant s swaddling bands was found in O.E. as swaþum (dative plural) …   Etymology dictionary

  • swathe — Ⅰ. swathe [1] (chiefly N. Amer. also swath) ► NOUN (pl. swathes or swaths) 1) a row or line of grass, corn, etc. as it falls when mown or reaped. 2) a broad strip or area: vast swathes of countryside. ORIGIN Old English, «track, trace» …   English terms dictionary

  • swathe — index enshroud, envelop Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • swathe — swathe1 [swäth, swāth] vt. swathed, swathing [ME swathen < OE swathian, akin to ON svatha, to glide, prob. < IE base * swei , to turn, bend > SWAY] 1. to wrap or bind up in a long strip or bandage 2. to wrap (a bandage, etc.) around… …   English World dictionary

  • swathe — I = swath swathe UK [sweɪð] / US or swath UK [swɒθ] / US [swɑθ] noun [countable] Word forms swathe : singular swathe plural swathes formal 1) a large area of land 2) a long narrow piece of cloth, especially one that is wrapped around someone or… …   English dictionary

  • swathe — swathe1 [sweıð US swa:ð, swo:ð, sweıð] n also swath [swɔθ US swa:θ] [: Old English; Origin: swAth footstep, track ] 1.) a long thin area of something, especially land swathe of ▪ The bomb had left a swathe of the town centre in ruins. ▪ A swathe… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • swathe — swathe1 [ sweıð ] verb swathe in phrasal verb transitive LITERARY swathe someone/something in something to completely cover someone or something with something: The moon was swathed in mist. swathe swathe 2 [ swað, sweıð ] noun count FORMAL 1. )… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

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