Illustration of swan
- swan 1
plural swans
1
plural also swan
: any of various large heavy-bodied long-necked mostly pure white aquatic birds (family Anatidae, especially genus Cygnus) that have webbed feet and are related to but larger than the geese
2
: one that resembles or is likened to a swan
3
capitalized
: the constellation Cygnus
Examples of swan in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Scott Maxwell, Orlando Sentinel, 24 July 2024
Contestants who made the final cut were given a modest per diem and lived in a two-bedroom apartment with a fellow swan.
—Meredith Blake, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2024
EW.com, 27 Oct. 2023
The music video, in which Tay swans around a Malibu mansion in a pastel two-piece, was more controversial.
—Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 13 Nov. 2023
See all Example Sentences for swan 
Noun
Yet that’s precisely what city officials say happened last week when a river otter somehow made its way into Lake Eola and slaughtered two of the city’s iconic swans — Australian black swans, to be precise.
—Scott Maxwell, Orlando Sentinel, 24 July 2024
Contestants who made the final cut were given a modest per diem and lived in a two-bedroom apartment with a fellow swan.
—Meredith Blake, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2024
Verb
This season reaches its pinnacle of camp with a visit from Oscar Wilde himself (Jordan Sebastian Waller), who swans through a crowd of Manhattan elite dropping droll asides after the premiere of his first play, Vera; or, The Nihilists.
—EW.com, 27 Oct. 2023
The music video, in which Tay swans around a Malibu mansion in a pastel two-piece, was more controversial.
—Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 13 Nov. 2023
See all Example Sentences for swan
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'swan.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near swan
Cite this Entry
“Swan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/swan. Accessed 12 Sep. 2024.
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