sideswipe

verb

Definition of sideswipenext
as in to hit
US to cause the side of a vehicle to come into forceful contact with the side of another vehicle The taxi sideswiped a parked car.

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sideswipe Authorities allege Brumley was behind the wheel of a southbound Mitsubishi sedan that sideswiped a northbound sports utility vehicle. — David Hernandez, San Francisco Chronicle, 1 Apr. 2026 Last week, The Economist wrote a breathless piece about how the US economy is firing on all cylinders—and fears that a recession will sideswipe stocks are just plain wrong. — Michael Foster, Forbes.com, 19 May 2026 Authorities say a semi truck driver in southern Minnesota sideswiped another vehicle Tuesday morning, causing a collision with a third car and killing one of the drivers. — Anthony Bettin, CBS News, 17 June 2026 As Friday dawned on northern Oklahoma, emergency officials in Garfield County and Enid have counted 40 homes so far that were damaged in a powerful tornado that sideswiped the city and also caused damage at Vance Air Force Base. — Dale Denwalt, Oklahoman, 24 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for sideswipe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sideswipe
  1. hit
  2. bump
  3. swipe
  4. contact
  5. strike
  6. ram
Verb
  • Against Cardinals’ starting pitcher Matthew Liberatore, the Braves mustered just one hit and one run through five innings of an eventual 5-3 loss.
    — Chad Bishop, AJC.com, 1 July 2026
  • Thomas had hit a leadoff double, but Michael Massey, Salvador Perez and John Rave failed to drive him in.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 1 July 2026
Definition of hit
Verb
  • The controversy only exploded the very next week when it was revealed the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) re-implemented a pilot program that bumped every girl who finished behind the trans athlete up by one spot on the podium.
    — Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 July 2026
  • The sum total of their spending has bumped Haley Stevens by four points.
    — David Weigel, semafor.com, 1 July 2026
Definition of bump
Verb
  • His failure to step up in the pocket and inconsistency in feeling pressure points allow edge rushers to swipe the ball out of his hands way too easily.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 3 July 2026
  • Two weeks before Maria hit, Hurricane Irma swiped past the island’s northeast corner as a Category 5 storm, also knocking out power.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 1 July 2026
Definition of swipe
Verb
  • The Shawano-Menominee Counties Health Department advised anyone bitten or scratched by a bat or other wild animal to promptly clean the wound with soap and water, then contact a physician or go to the emergency room.
    — Kelli Arseneau, USA Today, 1 July 2026
  • Some of the women who were angry contacted the SFMOMA not simply to share feedback, but to try to ensure Bahr could never work with the institution again.
    — Lisa Curtis, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
Definition of contact
Verb
  • Periodic epidemics struck colonial port cities in the late 1700s, NLM records show.
    — Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 3 July 2026
  • The vehicle struck a second 2007 Honda Pilot, which spun and hit a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado, the crash report said.
    — Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 3 July 2026
Definition of strike
Verb
  • In May, a minibus rammed into a bus parked along a motorway in northwest Pakistan, killing 17 people and injuring five others.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 July 2026
  • In May, a frightened horse rammed into another carriage, causing the vehicle to flip over, injuring the driver.
    — ANDREA SACHS THE WASHINGTON POST, Arkansas Online, 28 June 2026
Definition of ram

Browse Nearby Words

side streets
sideswipe
sideswiped
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Sideswipe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sideswipe. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gambol

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All