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Expression of the Day
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large swath

Featured Fossil Word
April 15, 2025
Fossil Word
The phrases wide swath, large swath or broad swath refer to an extensive area or strip often of land but also of public opinion or a percent of the population. Swath is a near-fossil word as its usage is almost always with these terms meaning large or extensive and very rarely 'small swath' or other usage.
Rate of Appearance in English Language Print

Google's Ngram project shows how often a pair of words has appeared in print every year since the 1800's.

Data from Google Books Ngram Viewer. Licensed under CC BY 3.0.

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