online medical dictionary | definition of swagger

1. To walk with a swaying motion; hence, to walk and act in a pompous, consequential manner. "A man who swaggers about London clubs." (Beaconsfield)

2. To boast or brag noisily; to be ostentatiously proud or vainglorious; to bluster; to bully. "What a pleasant it is . . . To swagger at the bar!" (Arbuthnot) "To be great is not . . . To swagger at our footmen." (Colier)

Origin: Freq. Of swag.

(01 Mar 1998)