Swipe
Swipe
A touch gesture where you slide your finger across the screen while keeping it in contact with the surface.
In Simple Terms
Swipe refers to the motion of sliding your finger across a smartphone or tablet screen — up, down, left, or right — while keeping it in contact with the display. It's commonly used to move to the next photo in a gallery app or scroll through posts on social media. Since it doesn't require pressing any buttons, it's become one of the most basic and widely used ways to interact directly with a touchscreen.
Behind the Name
The word "swipe" comes from an English verb meaning to strike or brush something with a quick, sweeping motion — like flicking away a bug or wiping a surface clean. It's also called a "swipe gesture." The term stuck because it captures exactly how you interact with a touchscreen: a quick, flicking motion of your finger across the surface.
Take a Closer Look!
Swipe is the action of touching a touchscreen, sliding your finger in the direction you want, and then lifting it off.
By moving your finger up, down, left, or right while it's still touching the screen, you can move the content that's displayed or bring up hidden features.
In general, different directions are often assigned different functions.
For example, sliding from the top of the screen downward might reveal the notification panel, while swiping left or right might take you back to the previous screen or move to the next photo.
Some apps also change the result depending on how far or how fast you swipe.
Common examples include swiping a long distance from the edge of the screen toward the center, or quickly flicking a card-style menu item off the screen to dismiss it.
In short, it's a way to operate an app intuitively through a hand motion similar to flipping a physical page, instead of hunting for and tapping small buttons on the screen.
It has become an essential design element for making the most of a mobile device's limited screen size while still delivering a smooth, natural feel.