swear in

phraseC1formal · an editor’s judgementNot compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

To swear in somebody is to make them promise formally to tell the truth or to do their duty. A hand raised, and words repeated.

Courts swear in witnesses and juries, and governments swear in ministers and presidents, so the ceremony is both legal and political. It splits round an object and is nearly always passive. The noun is a swearing-in. Anybody who objects to swearing on religious grounds may affirm instead, which has exactly the same legal force.

Definitions of swear in

1phraseswear inTo administer a formal oath to somebody taking office or giving evidence.C1
“They will swear in the new members on Monday.”

Practised in Crime & Law, A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 11 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

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swear in

phraseC1formal · an editor’s judgementNot compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

To swear in somebody is to make them promise formally to tell the truth or to do their duty. A hand raised, and words repeated.

Definitions of swear in

1phraseswear inTo administer a formal oath to somebody taking office or giving evidence.C1
“They will swear in the new members on Monday.”

Practised in Crime & Law, A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 11 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word