swan song

noun

1

: a song of great sweetness said to be sung by a dying swan

2

: a farewell appearance or final act or pronouncement

Did you know?

Swans don't sing. They whistle or trumpet, or in the case of the swan most common in ponds, the mute swan, they only hiss and snort. But according to ancient legend, the swan does sing one beautiful song in its life-just before it dies. References in English to the dying swan's lovely singing go back as far as Chaucer, but the term swan song itself didn't appear in the language until the 1830s, when Thomas Carlyle used it in Sartor Resartus. Carlyle probably based his "swan song" on the German version of the term, which is Schwanengesang or Schwanenlied.

Examples of swan song in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The watch also served as the swan song for the steel Nautilus Ref. — Robb Report, 9 Oct. 2026

Saturday in The Swamp might be Beamer's swan song, win or lose. — Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026

The lineup also features ‘Monguen,’ the swan song of docu filmmaker Antonio Caro, who died unexpectedly a few weeks ago. — Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 29 Sep. 2026

The group recorded an Unplugged session in November 1993 that would become a swan song of sorts for the brilliant but troubled Cobain. — Erik Pedersen, Deadline, 9 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1831, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for swan song

• agung
• along
• belong
• birdsong
• furlong
• headlong
• headstrong
• lifelong
• plainsong
• prolong
• sarong
• tanjong

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

swan song

noun

: a farewell appearance or final act or public statement

Etymology

from the legend that a dying swan sings a beautiful song