swarf
/swɔɹf/noun, verb
swarf is spelled S-W-A-R-F: 5 letters. It appears about once in every 30 million words in written English, the 165,739th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, swarf means “The waste chips or shavings from an abrasive activity, such as metalworking, a saw cutting wood, or the use of a grindstone or whetstone” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of swarf is swarfs.
How many letters and syllables are in swarf?
| Letters | 5: S-W-A-R-F |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 30 million words; the 165,739th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is swarf?
Swarf appears about once in every 30 million words in written English, the 165,739th 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 swarf?
- UK /swɔːf/
- US /swɔɹf/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-swarf.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with swarf?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as swarf from its last stressed vowel (/ɔɹf/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of swarf
- swarfs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- swarfing participle, present
- swarfed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does swarf mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The waste chips or shavings from an abrasive activity, such as metalworking, a saw cutting wood, or the use of a grindstone or whetstone.
- 2
A particular waste chip or shaving.
- 3
obsoleteA faint or swoon.
verb
- 1
To grind down.
- 2
ScotlandobsoleteTo grow languid; to faint.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Swarf in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
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 swarf come from?
From Middle English *swarf, *swerf, from Old English ġeswearf, ġesweorf (“iron filings; rust”) and/or Old Norse svarf (“metallic dust”), both from Proto-Germanic *swarbą (“that which is rubbed off; shavings”), from Proto-Germanic *swerbaną (“to mop, wipe; to rub off”); see further at swerve. The word is cognate to Old English sweorfan (“to rub, scour; to file”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).