Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

swing for the fences

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.53 in modern English

Syllables: swing -for the fences
IPA

32

Scrabble Score

17

Letters

2

Syllables

12

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To swing at the ball as hard as possible, with the aim of getting a home run.

American usage

verb

To do something extremely ambitious, especially rashly.

American usage

Example Sentences

"Don't swing for the fences unless it's an easy ball; be content with running part way."
"I'm not going to swing for the fences tomorrow, but I'm hoping my speech will be warmly received."
"“This is a very inexperienced government swinging for the fences in a situation where Labour is the strong favorite in the next election, if they don’t swing too far left,” said Kenneth S. Rogoff, a professor of economics at Harvard."
"Go on and swing for the fences / Take a shot at the moon / A dandelion that dances / Takes chances and fancies every little light in the room"

Usage

American usage

Inflected Forms

swings for the fences (present, singular) swinging for the fences (participle, present) swung for the fences (participle, past) swung for the fences (past) swing for the fence (alternative)

Phrases

hit one out of the ballpark run for the roses shoot the moon

Frequently Paired Words

hit one out of the ballpark run for the roses shoot the moon

Questions

What does swing for the fences mean?: To swing at the ball as hard as possible, with the aim of getting a home run.

How to pronounce swing for the fences

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