swap

swap¹ S3 swop [swɔp US swa:p] v BrE past tense and past participle swapped present participle swapping

[Date: 1500-1600; Origin: swap 'to hit' (14-19 centuries), from the sound; from the practice of striking the hands together when agreeing a business deal]

1.) [I and T]

to give something to someone and get something in return

= ↑exchange

▪ Do you want to swap umbrellas?

swap sth for sth

▪ He swapped his watch for a box of cigars.

swap sth with sb

▪ The girls chatted and swapped clothes with each other.

2.) [T]

to tell information to someone and be given information in return

= ↑exchange

▪ We need to get together to swap ideas and information.

▪ They sat in a corner and swapped gossip.

3.) also swap over [T]

to do the thing that someone else has been doing, and let them do the thing that you have been doing

= ↑change

▪ They decided to swap roles for the day.

▪ You start on the windows and I'll do the walls, then we can swap over after an hour or so.

swap sth with sb

▪ She ended up swapping jobs with her secretary.

4.) [T]

to stop using or get rid of one thing and put or get another thing in its place

▪ The driver announced that we would have to swap buses.

swap sth for sth

▪ She had swapped her long skirts for jeans and T shirts.

▪ He swapped his London home for a cottage in Scotland.

5.) also swap sth around [T]

to move one thing and put another in its place

▪ Someone had gone into the nursery and swapped all the babies around.

swap sth with sth

▪ Why don't we swap the TV with the bookcase?

6.) swap places

BrE to let someone sit or stand in your place, so that you can have their place

= ↑change places

▪ Can we swap places, please?

swap ²

swap² n informal

1.) [usually singular]

a situation in which you give something to someone and get another thing in return

= ↑exchange

▪ a fair swap

▪ We can do a swap if you like.

2.) a situation in which people each do the job that the other usually does