swung dashn. A character (~) used to stand for all or part of a word that has previously been spelled out.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.swung dash n (Printing, Lithography & Bookbinding) a mark, ~, traditionally used in text to indicate the omission of a word or part of a word Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014swung? dash` n. a mark of punctuation (~) used in place of a word or part of a word previously spelled out. [1950?55] Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.swung dashA printing character (~) used to take the place of a word or part of a word that is deliberately omitted.Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited