What it means
That kid who actually revises, does the homework, and turns up with colour-coded notes while the rest of you are chatting absolute rubbish. Swot is usually a teasing label, not full-on nasty, a bit like teacher’s pet with extra stationery. As a verb, to swot means to study hard or cram for an exam. Swots definitely don’t help the grade boundaries.
Usage examples
"You coming out Friday? Nah, I’m swotting for the maths test. It’s only Year 10, mate. Says you, you’ve borrowed my pen again."
"She's a bit of a swot, always finishes her homework before anyone else even starts."
"I had to swot all weekend to be ready for the Monday exam."
"Don’t ask Noah for the answers, he’s gone full swot and made revision cards for three different subjects."
"I was meant to come round, but I’m swotting tonight because that chemistry paper looks filthy."
Where it comes from
Swot is solid British slang, recorded from the 19th century. It comes from the verb swot, which first meant to hit or wallop, then shifted into the school world for grinding away at books. From there, a swot became the kid who studies hard enough to make everyone else look gloriously underprepared.
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