1. To attempt to strike someone or something, as with a punch or a handheld weapon. The guy swung for me when I tried to calm him down. She grabbed the bat and started swinging for the piñata.

2. To be executed by hanging for some crime one has committed. Under the brutal dictatorship, you could swing for even whispering dissatisfaction with the government. A: "Yes, I confess, it was I who murdered her!" B: "You'll swing for this, Ericson."