swap

[swop] /swɒp/
verb (used with object), swapped, swapping.
1.
to exchange, barter, or trade, as one thing for another:
He swapped his wrist watch for the radio.
verb (used without object), swapped, swapping.
2.
to make an exchange.
noun
3.
an exchange:
He got the radio in a swap.
Also, swop.
Origin
1300-50; Middle English swappen to strike, strike hands (in bargaining); cognate with dialectal German schwappen to box (the ears)
Related forms
swapper, noun
unswapped, adjective
Examples from the web for swap
  • Court ruled that those swap agreements were not legal because the council was not authorized to trade speculatively.
  • The next great development in risk management was the swap.
  • When in need, you probably swap something you have-including money-for something you don't.
  • Bacteria swap genes with their neighbors more frequently than researchers have realized.
  • Still, you wouldn't want to swap too many vacation photos on this system.
  • Then swap in different colors next time to see how it shakes up the flavor.
  • swap meets are an excellent place to find them cheap.
  • The groups then swap cards and play guess the definitions, making notations on the cards of what would be better definitions.
  • Buying the swap and the security makes you a prudent investor.
  • Rock climbers, coils of rope slung over their shoulders, swap stories over beer on a patio.
British Dictionary definitions for swap

swap

/swɒp/
verb swaps, swapping, swapped, swops, swopping, swopped
1.
to trade or exchange (something or someone) for another
noun
2.
an exchange
3.
something that is exchanged
4.
(finance) Also called swap option, swaption. a contract in which the parties to it exchange liabilities on outstanding debts, often exchanging fixed interest-rate for floating-rate debts (debt swap), either as a means of managing debt or in trading (swap trading)
Derived Forms
swapper, swopper, noun
Word Origin
C14 (in the sense: to shake hands on a bargain, strike): probably of imitative origin
Word Origin and History for swap
v.

c.1300, "to strike, strike the hands together," possibly imitative of the sound of hitting. The sense of "exchange, barter, trade" is first recorded 1590s, possibly from the practice of slapping hands together as a sign of agreement in bargaining. Related: Swapped; swapping. The noun in this sense is attested from 1620s.

swap in Technology

operating system
To move a program from fast-access memory to a slow-access memory ("swap out"), or vice versa ("swap in"). The term often refers specifically to the use of a hard disk (or a swap file) as virtual memory or "swap space".
When a program is to be executed, possibly as determined by a scheduler, it is swapped into core for processing; when it can no longer continue executing for some reason, or the scheduler decides its time slice has expired, it is swapped out again.
This contrasts with "paging" systems in which only parts of a program's memory is transfered.
[Jargon File]
(1996-11-22)

Related Abbreviations for swap

SWAP

severe weather avoidance procedures