swiftboat noun 2verb 2forms 3 noun2 •A type of gunboat used by the United States military on inland waterways.The men narrowly missed death when the swiftboat in front of theirs took a direct hit from a Communist rocket-propelled grenade. — 1973 •[before a noun] (figurative) A smear campaign based on specious claims.Lately, however, Republican swiftboat attacks have begun to fall short. — 2007 verb2 •(US) To attack a politician with specious claims.No one should have been surprised that the Republicans would try to swiftboat Hillary in 2016, turning an accomplished diplomat into a feckless bungler who lied to cover up her own failures. — 2015 •To smear; to attack someone or something's reputation using slander, misrepresentation, or false accusations.My wife suggested that in absence of a response by Woody, he was being swiftboated. — 2014 formsswiftboated · swiftboating · swiftboats
