as in nerd
a person slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits
every time he begged off a night at the pub—saying he had to study—his mates teased him for being a swot
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Recent Examples of swot
John McIntyre, The Christian Science Monitor, 31 July 2023
So, swot up, then delegate.
—Barnaby Lashbrooke, Forbes, 4 May 2021
The Economist, 13 June 2020
Greenblatt might want to have a chinwag with some of his colleagues in the history department and swot up the biography of someone like Wisconsin’s Robert La Follette, a progressive populist politician perhaps more to his liking.
—Alex Beam, BostonGlobe.com, 2 May 2018
Noun
The Oxbridge and Ivy League colleges traditionally had disparaging terms for students who worked too hard and devoted themselves too diligently to learning: swot in England, grind in the United States.
—John McIntyre, The Christian Science Monitor, 31 July 2023
So, swot up, then delegate.
—Barnaby Lashbrooke, Forbes, 4 May 2021
Verb
Yamada Jun, the IT expert, became the CEO and travelled to Germany to swot up on renewables.
—The Economist, 13 June 2020
Greenblatt might want to have a chinwag with some of his colleagues in the history department and swot up the biography of someone like Wisconsin’s Robert La Follette, a progressive populist politician perhaps more to his liking.
—Alex Beam, BostonGlobe.com, 2 May 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swot
Noun
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At a time when nerds were getting their revenge, most of them wanted to be Chris Knight.—
Brian Tallerico,
Vulture,
3 Apr. 2025
-
North Carolina failed to dazzle the recruiting/portal nerds.—
Bill Speros,
Boston Herald,
2 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Leverage text analytics tools to analyze transcripts and identify key themes and patterns.—
Beth Worthy,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
-
Experts analyzed the ring, comparing it to similar objects from the Swedish History Museum in Stockholm.—
Sonja Anderson,
Smithsonian Magazine,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
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While most people just want to start shooting, the geeks also want to dig into the minutia and spend hours debating the merits of one camera versus the other.—
Jakob Schiller,
Outside Online,
1 Apr. 2025
-
Redford heads a team of eccentric misfits that includes a former CIA Agent (Sidney Poitier), a conspiracy theorist (Dan Aykroyd), an awkward geek (River Phoenix), and a blind man (David Strathairn) who get in over their heads when tasked with finding a device capable of breaking any code.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
19 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Tennis players are deduced, disadvantaged, deserved, and defaulted.—
Richard Lederer,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
29 Mar. 2025
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Though Taylor Swift's outfits tend to spark theories over future projects and performances, not much can be deduced from this date night ensemble, which may be exactly the point.—
Emily Tannenbaum,
Glamour,
8 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The forthcoming decision was welcomed by Gilles Bissonnette, the legal director of the ACLU of New Hampshire, who said that Liu can now continue studying and working computer science.—
Michael Dorgan,
FOXNews.com,
10 Apr. 2025
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Anson could be a young Rupert Everett’s bookish brother, and has clearly studied every wince and eye flutter in Hugh Grant’s arsenal, combining such tools into a 21st-century version of the Mr. Darcy archetype.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
9 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Other dreamers found out they're headed to technology labs, sound stages, and even to space flight training!—
DeVonne Goode,
Parents,
4 Apr. 2025
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The problem will be finding out which is able to do a deal with De Laurentiis.—
Joshua Kloke,
New York Times,
4 Apr. 2025
Verb
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As the verdict was read, Way looked straight ahead.—
Nancy Dillon,
Rolling Stone,
10 Apr. 2025
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Way, who smiled as the initial $4 million verdict was read, was cleared on claims of false imprisonment and constructive discharge.—
Steven J. Horowitz,
Variety,
10 Apr. 2025
Verb
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In 2020, Van Gogh Institute director Wouter van der Veen learned of the plot of land after comparing an early 20th-century image that matched the roots in Van Gogh’s painting to the work itself, which was created in the the days before his suicide in a nearby wheat field.—
Angelica Villa for ARTNews,
Robb Report,
6 Apr. 2025
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When parents cope with their own feelings, kids learn that emotions are a part of daily life that's just as valuable to our health as sleep and exercise.—
Juli Fraga, Contributor,
CNBC,
6 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Swot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swot. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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