swap

vt. 1. [techspeak] To move information from a fast-access memory to a
slow-access memory ( swap out ), or vice versa ( swap in ). Often refers
specifically to the use of disks as virtual memory. As pieces of data or
program are needed, they are swapped into core for processing; when they are
no longer needed they may be swapped out again. 2. The jargon use of these
terms analogizes people's short-term memories with core. Cramming for an
exam might be spoken of as swapping in. If you temporarily forget someone's
name, but then remember it, your excuse is that it was swapped out. To keep
something swapped in means to keep it fresh in your memory: I reread the
TECO manual every few months to keep it swapped in. If someone interrupts
you just as you got a good idea, you might say Wait a moment while I swap
this out , implying that a piece of paper is your extra-somatic memory and
that if you don't swap the idea out by writing it down it will get
overwritten and lost as you talk. Compare page in , page out.

