# swifter

Pronunciation: US say "SWIF-ter" /ˈswɪftəɹ/; UK say "SWIF-tuh" /ˈswɪftə/

## Adjective

1. Comparative of swift. — comparative form of swift: more swift
   - Simple: Comparative of swift. Use it to say one thing is faster or quicker than another.
   - _Lighter boats are swifter in a following wind._
   - _Customers were promised a swifter response to their complaints._

## Noun

2. A rope that holds the bars of a capstan in their sockets while the capstan is being turned.
   - Simple: On a ship, a rope that holds the bars of the capstan in place while it is turned.
   - _Before the crew began heaving, the mate passed the swifter around the ends of the capstan bars._
   - _The swifter kept every bar in its socket as the men pushed the capstan around._
3. A rope passed lengthwise around a boat to strengthen and protect her sides.
   - Simple: A rope tied all the way around a boat, from front to back, to make its sides stronger and protect them.
   - _They rigged a swifter around the launch before towing it alongside the larger ship._
   - _With a swifter girdling her hull, the lifeboat took the knocks against the wharf without damage._
4. On a sailing ship, the forward shroud of a lower mast.
   - Simple: On a sailing ship, the front one of the side ropes that hold up a lower mast.
   - _The bosun had the swifter set up tighter after the mainmast began to work in the swell._
   - _Spray soaked the lookout as he clung to the swifter while the ship heeled._

## Verb

5. To tighten something, such as slack standing rigging, by drawing the opposite shrouds closer together.
   - Simple: To make loose ropes on a ship tight by pulling the ropes on both sides closer together.
   - _Before the gale arrived, the bosun told the crew to swifter the slack shrouds._
   - _Once they had swiftered the rigging, the mast stopped swaying._

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/swifter (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).