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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

swish.

sophisticated; fashionable; smooth.

5 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/swɪʃ/
  1. sophisticated; fashionable; smooth.

    UK · colloquial
    This restaurant looks very swish — it even has linen tablecloths.
  2. Attractive, stylish

  3. Effeminate.

Where this word comes from

From noun, imitative of the sound

noun/swɪʃ/
  1. A short rustling, hissing or whistling sound, often made by friction.

    countable · uncountable
  2. A hissing, sweeping movement through the air, as of an animal's tail.

    countable · uncountable
  3. A sound of liquid flowing, especially inside a container.

    countable · uncountable
  4. A twig or bundle of twigs, used for administering beatings; a switch

    countable · uncountable
  5. A successful basketball shot that does not touch the rim or backboard.

    countable · uncountable
  6. A rapid or careless attacking stroke by the batter.

    countable · uncountable
  7. An effeminate male homosexual.

    countable · slang · uncountable
  8. Effeminacy, effeminate or homosexual demeanor.

    slang · uncountable
    He got a little swish downriver.
  9. An improvised alcoholic drink made by fermenting whatever ingredients are available.

    Canada · slang · uncountable
Where this word comes from

From noun, imitative of the sound

verb/swɪʃ/
  1. To make a rustling sound while moving.

    The cane swishes.
  2. To flourish with a swishing sound.

    transitive
    to swish a cane back and forth
  3. To flog; to lash.

    dated · slang · transitive
  4. To make a successful basketball shot that does not touch the rim or backboard.

  5. To mince or otherwise to behave in an effeminate manner.

    slang
    I shall not swish; I'll merely act limp-wristed.
  6. To cause a liquid to move around in a container, or in one's mouth.

    transitive
    Swish the mouthwash around the mouth and between the teeth for one minute.
Where this word comes from

From noun, imitative of the sound

intj/swɪʃ/
  1. A hissing or whistling sound of something travelling quickly through the air.

    onomatopoeic
  2. The sound of a basketball going in the hoop.

    onomatopoeic
Where this word comes from

From noun, imitative of the sound

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.