one fell swoop
"one-fell-swoop" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“one fell swoop” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 14
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One stroke; one action or event that achieves or accomplishes many results.
Corpus desk
Index EN-one-fell-swoop · one fell swoop · English
one fell swoop · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 14 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "O" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | one fell swoop |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 14 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “one fell swoop” in English
Rare enough to double-check
one fell swoop is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "One stroke; one action or event that achieves or accomplishes many results.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for one fell swoop, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: After Shakespeare, in Macbeth, act iv, scene 3, where Macduff learns his wife and entire family are murdered: : Ro. Wife, Children, Servants, all that could be found. […] : Macd. […] All my pretty ones? Did you say All? Oh Hell-Kite! All? What, All my prett… The correct English form is one fell swoop, spelled O-N-E- -F-E-L-L- -S-W-O-O-P.
Definition
- 1One stroke; one action or event that achieves or accomplishes many results.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how one fell swoop appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Changing the oil lubricates the engine and removes debris in one fell swoop.
...they might be hanging about there or simply marauders ready to decamp with whatever boodle they could in one fell swoop at a moment's notice, your money or your life, leaving you there to point a moral, gagged and garrotted.
Etymology
After Shakespeare, in Macbeth, act iv, scene 3, where Macduff learns his wife and entire family are murdered: : Ro. Wife, Children, Servants, all that could be found. […] : Macd. […] All my pretty ones? Did you say All? Oh Hell-Kite! All? What, All my pretty Chickens, and their Damme At one fell swoope? The imagery is of a bird of prey ("hell-kite") ransacking a whole nest at one blow, fell meaning "terrible, cruel, savage." In later uses of the expression, the force of the metaphor is reduced or lost.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.