¹swagger

verb swag·ger \ˈswa-gər\

: to walk in a very confident way : to walk with a swagger

swag·geredswag·ger·ing \-g(ə-)riŋ\

Full Definition of SWAGGER

intransitive verb

: to conduct oneself in an arrogant or superciliously pompous manner; especially : to walk with an air of overbearing self-confidence

transitive verb

: to force by argument or threat : bully

— swag·ger·er \-gər-ər\ noun

— swag·ger·ing·ly \-g(ə-)riŋ-lē\ adverb

See swagger defined for English-language learners

See swagger defined for kids

He copped a plea, ratted out a dozen no-neck pals and swaggered off to prison, leaving South Beach temporarily without a pied piper. —Carl Hiaasen, New York Times Book Review, 22 Feb. 2009
So it is a fight rather than an argument, really—a fight over complexity versus ease, a fight that mostly mimics gang war, which is not so much a vigorous instance of manly bloodletting (though it is that too) as a dustup over prestige: who has the prior right to swagger in public. —Cynthia Ozick, Harper's, April 2007
Sometimes he sauntered through the streets of the old town. He looked with awe at the students of the corps, their cheeks gashed and red, who swaggered about in their coloured caps. —W. Somerset Maugham, Of Human Bondage, 1915
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probably from ¹swag + -er (as in chatter)

First Known Use: circa 1596

noun swag·ger \ˈswa-gər\

: a way of walking or behaving that shows you have a lot of confidence

a : an arrogantly self-confident way of walking : an act or instance of swaggering

b : arrogant or conceitedly self-assured behavior

c : ostentatious display or bravado

: a self-confident outlook : cockiness

See swagger defined for English-language learners

He limps with a noticeable swagger, flamboyantly waving his cane, semi-ironically mimicking the rap stars who are now his peers. —Matt Diehl, Spin, September 2008
He greeted me with the swagger he's learned since he became a fighter pilot, smiling, his blue eyes glowing. —Matthew Klam, Harper's, February 1999
What a hero Tom was become, now! He did not go skipping and prancing, but moved with a dignified swagger as became a pirate who felt that the public eye was on him. —Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer, 1876
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