at one fell swoop
31swoop — ► VERB 1) move rapidly downwards through the air. 2) carry out a sudden raid. 3) (often swoop up) informal seize with a sweeping motion. ► NOUN ▪ an act of swooping. ● at (or in) one fell swoop Cf. ↑ …
32fell — Ⅰ. fell [2] ► VERB 1) cut down (a tree). 2) knock down. 3) stitch down (the edge of a seam) to lie flat. DERIVATIVES feller noun. ORIGIN Old English, related to FALL …
33swoop — (v.) 1560s, to move or walk in a stately manner, apparently from a dialectal survival of O.E. swapan to sweep, brandish, dash, from P.Gmc. *swaipanan, from PIE root *swei to swing, bend, to turn. Meaning pounce upon with a sweeping movement first …
34fell — fell1 [fel] vi., vt. pt. of FALL fell2 [fel] vt. [ME fellen < OE fællan, fellan (< Gmc * falljan), caus. of feallan (< Gmc * fallan), FALL] 1. to cause to fall; knock down [to fell an opponent with a blow] 2. t …
35swoop — [[t]swu͟ːp[/t]] swoops, swooping, swooped 1) VERB If police or soldiers swoop on a place, they go there suddenly and quickly, usually in order to arrest someone or to attack the place. [JOURNALISM] [V on n] The terror ended when armed police… …
36swoop — I UK [swuːp] / US [swup] verb [intransitive] Word forms swoop : present tense I/you/we/they swoop he/she/it swoops present participle swooping past tense swooped past participle swooped 1) to move quickly and suddenly downwards through the air,… …
37fell — fell1 [fel] v the past tense of ↑fall fell 2 fell2 n [C usually plural] a mountain or hill in the north of England fell 3 fell3 v [T usually passive] [: Old English; Origin: fellan; related to FALL1] …
38swoop — swoop1 [ swup ] verb intransitive 1. ) to move quickly and suddenly downward through the air, especially in order to attack or catch someone or something: The aircraft swooped down over the fields in search of its target. We watched the hawk… …
39fell — fell1 /fel/, v. pt. of fall. fell2 /fel/, v.t. 1. to knock, strike, shoot, or cut down; cause to fall: to fell a moose; to fell a tree. 2. Sewing. to finish (a seam) by sewing the edge down flat. n. 3. Lumbering. the amount of timber cut down in… …
40swoop — I. verb Etymology: alteration of Middle English swopen to sweep, from Old English swāpan more at sweep Date: 1566 intransitive verb to move with a sweep transitive verb to gain or carry off in or as if in a swoop usually used with up • swooper… …
