swot

Everyday

1. (UK informal, teasing) A swot is a pupil who studies very hard, sometimes said in a mocking way. tree →
2. (UK informal) To swot or swot up is to study hard, especially before a test. tree →
3. SWOT (capitals) is short for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats, a way to plan or judge an idea in business or school projects. tree →

In the lessons

School talk in the UK, Ireland, Australia and NZ: «Stop being such a swot!» can be teasing, but working hard is a good thing. «Swot up on your spellings before Friday». In the USA a similar word is «nerd» or «grind». In business studies, a SWOT analysis is a four-box table.

Examples

• She's a swot and always does extra homework. tree →
• I need to swot up on my times tables. tree →
• He spent the weekend swotting for his test. tree →
• Don't call people swots for working hard. tree →
• We did a SWOT analysis of our school fair plan. tree →
• Being a swot paid off when she won the quiz. tree →

Note

Informal, mostly British-English countries. Verb doubles the t: swotted, swotting. Do not confuse with «swat» (to hit a fly). Teasing someone for studying hard is unkind.