swath

noun

ˈswäth 

ˈswȯth

variants or swathe

ˈswät͟h 

ˈswȯt͟h,

ˈswāt͟h 

1

a

: a row of cut grain or grass left by a scythe or mowing machine

b

: the sweep of a scythe or a machine in mowing or the path cut in one course

2

: a long broad strip or belt

3

: a stroke of or as if of a scythe

4

: a space devastated as if by a scythe

Examples of swath in a Sentence

An aerial view of the countryside shows wide swathes of green.

He cut a swath through the field with his scythe.

Recent Examples on the Web

Temperatures will be five to 20 degrees colder than usual for a large swath of the country, CNN reports. —Rachel Treisman, NPR, 2 Jan. 2025

Near the state line with Tennessee, a large swath of I-40 collapsed into the Pigeon River, which rose to nearly 22 feet before the observation gauge below Waterville – a Haywood County town near the border – quit responding, the Asheville Citizen Times reported. —Usa Today Graphics Team, USA TODAY, 31 Dec. 2024

AccuWeather said that warm and humid conditions could help fuel more severe weather in a wide swath of the Southeast and East. —Alexis Simmerman, Austin American-Statesman, 30 Dec. 2024

Panigrahi predicts that a wider swath of enterprises will begin adopting AI, which will be a boon to Oracle given its hundreds of thousands of big customers. —Jordan Novet, CNBC, 26 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English swæth footstep, trace; akin to Middle High German swade swath

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

swath

noun

ˈswäth 

ˈswȯth

variants or swathe

ˈswät͟h 

ˈswȯt͟h,

ˈswāt͟h

1

a

: the sweep of a scythe or machine in mowing or the path cut in one course

b

: a row of cut grain or grass

2

: a long broad strip or belt

3

: a space destroyed as if by a mowing machine