# swift

> English word · Adjective · IPA /swɪft/ · frequency rank #5,635

## Definitions
1. Fast; quick; rapid.
2. Capable of moving at high speeds.

## Etymology
From Middle English swift, from Old English swift (“swift; quick”), from Proto-Germanic *swiftaz (“swift; quick”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)weyp- (“to twist; wind around”). Cognate with Icelandic svipta (“to pull quickly”), Old English swīfan (“to revolve, sweep, wend, intervene”). More at swivel.

## Easily confused with
- **swim** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/swift-vs-swim)
- **swot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/swift-vs-swot)
- **swig** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/swift-vs-swig)
- **swing** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/swift-vs-swing)
- **Swiss** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/swift-vs-swiss)
- **swipe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/swift-vs-swipe)
- **swine** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/swift-vs-swine)
- **swirl** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/swift-vs-swirl)
- **Swims** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/swift-vs-swims)
- **swish** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/swift-vs-swish)
- **swiftly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/swift-vs-swiftly)
- **sit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sit-vs-swift)
- **Sif** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sif-vs-swift)
- **shit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shit-vs-swift)
- **suit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/suit-vs-swift)
- **soft** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soft-vs-swift)
- **spit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/spit-vs-swift)
- **slit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slit-vs-swift)
- **SWAT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/swat-vs-swift)
- **skit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/skit-vs-swift)

## Common misspellings (8)
`siwft`, `sswift`, `swfit`, `swifft`, `swiftt`, `switf`, `swwift`, `wsift`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/swift