What does swiping mean?
Swiping is the present-participle form of the verb swipe and also a noun for the act of making a quick brushing movement. In its most familiar modern use, it describes moving a finger across a touchscreen to turn a page, move an item, or rapidly browse through content. In dating apps, swiping has become a metaphor for quickly reviewing and judging potential partners, with conventional gestures for approval or rejection. The word can also refer to a sharp sideways strike, as in an attempt to knock something away. Its register ranges from neutral in descriptions of interfaces and user behaviour to more dramatic in the older physical sense. Swiping is useful because it names both a precise digital gesture and the broader social habit of rapid evaluation associated with online dating. In everyday use, it is usually informal, but the literal sense of a forceful blow is older and fully standard.
To move a finger, cursor, or object quickly across a surface; to browse or evaluate content rapidly; or to make a quick, forceful brushing or striking movement.
"He swiped through several photographs before choosing one."
The dating-app sense is informal and often implies quick evaluation or dismissal.
The act of swiping, especially a touchscreen gesture or the rapid browsing of content and profiles.
"A quick swiping of the screen brought up the next page."
The noun is usually an activity or mass noun; plural usage is rare.
Rare; swiping is normally used as an uncountable activity noun.
"Several quick swipings of the card registered on the sensor."
Swiping once meant knocking something aside; now one flick can also mean judging a potential partner in a fraction of a second.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does swiping come from?
Swiping is the present participle of the English verb swipe, whose older core sense was a quick, forceful movement or blow. The verb was later extended to touchscreen use for the gesture of moving a finger rapidly across a display, and subsequently into dating-app language for rapidly reviewing and accepting or rejecting profiles. Its core ancestry lies in Middle English swippen, from which the modern form developed.
Related word forms
How swiping is actually used
The touchscreen sense is common in informal and technological contexts, although it is also standard in technical writing. Dating-app usage often carries connotations of rapid, impersonal judgment. In its older physical sense, swiping can imply a sharp or forceful movement, especially in the phrase "swipe at." The noun is usually treated as a mass or activity noun, and its plural is uncommon.
Easily confused with swiping
Swiping means making a quick, localized brushing or striking motion, whereas sweeping means moving something broadly across a surface or area.