An exchange of two comparable things.
"The boxer waited for his opponent to swing, planning to deliver a sharp swap to the jaw."
A blow; a stroke.
In plain English: A swap is when you trade something with someone else to get what they have instead.
"The referee called for a swap during halftime to replace the tired striker with a fresh defender."
move (a piece of a program) into memory, in computer science
"The operating system automatically swaps out inactive processes to free up RAM for active applications."
To exchange or give (something) in an exchange (for something else).
"The two friends decided to swap their books at lunch so each could read the other's favorite story."
In plain English: To swap something means to exchange it for another item with someone else.
"They decided to swap seats so that I could get some fresh air."
Usage: Use swap as both a verb and noun to describe exchanging items, often implying a direct trade where each party gives up one thing for another. It is frequently used informally instead of "exchange," though it specifically emphasizes the mutual nature of giving something in return.
The word swap comes from Middle English, where it originally meant "to hurl" or "to strike," likely alluding to the motion of striking hands together during an exchange. Its roots trace back to Old English forms related to swooping down, rather than its current sense of exchanging items.