Also: swing past
Meaning of Swing By (something)
To swing by means to visit a place casually; to stop at a place quickly, especially when on one’s way to another place; to visit a place for a brief period of time while on a direct course to some other place; to visit a place quickly while doing other things. 1“swing by.” Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. 2015. Farlex, Inc 15 Apr. 2023 https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/swing+by,2Definition of swing by/past (something) from the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press).3Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.
Sentence Examples
I’m going to swing by the store on the way home. You need anything?”
“You can swing by anytime. I’ll be here.”
“On the way to the restaurant do you mind if I swing by my cousin’s house? I need to borrow something from him.”
“Do you mind if we swing past the university? Bit of unfinished business.” — Possession (2002)
“When you swing past the drugstore for those antibiotics, you want to get me a copy of Maxim or maybe a Sports Illustrated?” — Arrow: Dodger (2013)
