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swag

/ˈswæɡ/verb, noun

swag is spelled S-W-A-G: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,651st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, swag means “To (cause to) sway” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in swag?

Letters4: S-W-A-G
Syllables1
In writing1.5 times per million words; the 22,651st most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is swag?

Swag appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,651st most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce swag?

  • /ˈswæɡ/
  • [ˈswæɡ]
  • /ˈsweɪ̯ɡ/

Swag has one syllable.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-swag.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of swag

  • swags present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • swagging participle, present
  • swagged participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does swag mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To (cause to) sway.

  2. 2

    To droop; to sag.

  3. 3

    To decorate (something) with loops of draped fabric.

  4. 4

    To install (a ceiling fan or light fixture) by means of a long cord running from the ceiling to an outlet, and suspended by hooks or similar.

  5. 5

    AustraliaTo travel on foot carrying a swag (possessions tied in a blanket).

  6. 6

    To transport stolen goods.

  7. 7

    To transport in the course of arrest.

noun

  1. 1

    A loop of draped fabric.

  2. 2

    Something that droops like a swag.

  3. 3

    A place where water collects; a low, wet place where the land has settled.

  4. 4

    A pass, gap or sag in a mountain ridge.

  5. 5

    slangStyle; fashionable appearance or manner.

  6. 6

    Stolen goods; the booty of a burglar or thief; boodle.

  7. 7

    informalBranded handout, freebies, or giveaways, often distributed at conventions; merchandise.

  8. 8

    AustraliadatedThe possessions of a bushman or itinerant worker, tied up in a blanket and carried over the shoulder, sometimes attached to a stick.

  9. 9

    AustraliaA small single-person tent, usually foldable into an integral backpack.

  10. 10

    AustraliaA large quantity (of something).

  11. 11

    obsoleteA shop and its goods; any quantity of goods.

  12. 12

    Alternative letter-case form of SWAG; a wild guess or ballpark estimate.

    I can take a swag at the answer, but it may not be right.

noun

as SWAG
  1. 1

    slangvulgarInitialism of scientific wild-ass guess; also speculative/sophisticated/stupid/some wild-ass guess Used humorously to indicate that an estimate was more of a guess than the result of any stringent data analysis.

    Near-synonyms: WAG, wild guess, uneducated guess, stab in the dark, shot in the dark; see also Thesaurus:supposition

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Swag in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Spanishtipería (Translations), botín (stolen goods), dádivas promocionales (promotional freebies), tumbao ((slang) style; a fashionable appearance or…)
GermanDiebesgut, Beute (stolen goods), Swag ((slang) style; a fashionable appearance or…), Sore (burglar's or thief's booty; a boodle), Werbegeschenk (handouts, freebies, or giveaways)
Frenchbutin (burglar's or thief's booty; a boodle), babiole (handouts, freebies, or giveaways), balluchon, baluchon (bushman's possessions in a drape)
Portugueseginga ((slang) style; a fashionable appearance or…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does swag come from?

Inherited from Middle English swagen, a late collateral form of *swawen possibly originating from Lancashire and Yorkshire (possibly continued in Scots swaw (“wave”); parallel to e.g. drag for draw), from Old Norse *svaga (“to swerve, sway”), of unclear origin. Compare dialectal Norwegian svaga (“to sway, swing, stagger”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after swag