At one fell swoop
to sweep through the air, as a bird or a bat, especially down upon prey.
to come down upon something in a sudden, swift attack (often followed by down and on or upon):
the army swooped down on the town.
to take, lift, scoop up, or remove with or as with one sweeping motion (often followed by up, away, or off):
he swooped her up in his arms.
an act or instance of swooping; a sudden, swift descent.
at / in one fell swoop, all at once or all together, as if by one blow:
the quake flattened the houses at one fell swoop.
verb
(intransitive; usually foll by down, on, or upon) to sweep or pounce suddenly
(transitive; often foll by up, away, or off) to seize or scoop suddenly
noun
the act of swooping
a swift descent
v.
1560s, “to move or walk in a stately manner,” apparently from a dialectal survival of old english swapan “to sweep, brandish, dash,” from proto-germanic -swaipanan, from pie root -swei- “to swing, bend, to turn.” meaning “pounce upon with a sweeping movement” first recorded 1630s. spelling with -oo- may have been influenced by scottish and northern england dialectal soop “to sweep,” from old norse sopa “to sweep.” related: swooped; swooping.
n.
1540s, from swoop (v.). phrase one fell swoop is from shakespeare.
oh, h-ll-kite! all? what, all my pretty chickens, and their damme, at one fell swoope? [“macbeth,” iv.iii.219]
see: one fell swoop
see: one fell swoop
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