# one fell swoop

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/one-fell-swoop
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

One stroke; one action or event that achieves or accomplishes many results.

## Examples

- She finished all her chores in one fell swoop.
- He deletes all his old emails in one fell swoop every Sunday morning.
- The new manager fired the entire department in one fell swoop to cut costs.
- The storm knocked out the power, the internet, and the phone lines in one fell swoop, leaving the entire neighborhood in total silence.
- By signing the single comprehensive agreement, the government addressed the environmental, economic, and social concerns in one fell swoop.

## Origin

After Shakespeare, in Macbeth, act iv, scene 3, where Macduff learns his wife and entire family are murdered: : Ro. Wife, Children, Servants, all that could be found. […] : Macd. […] All my pretty ones? Did you say All? Oh Hell-Kite! All? What, All my pretty Chickens, and their Damme At one fell swoope? The imagery is of a bird of prey ("hell-kite") ransacking a whole nest at one blow, fell meaning "terrible, cruel, savage." In later uses of the expression, the force of the metaphor is reduced or lost.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.