Emmanuel Adebayor grabbed a brace as Tottenham won 3-1 at the Liberty Stadium to compound Swansea's relegation fears.
The striker headed Spurs into a 35th-minute lead and then tapped in their third after a Chico Flores own goal had doubled the visitors' lead.
Wilfried Bony hit the bar and had a good penalty appeal for a push by Michael Dawson turned down in the first half, before getting Swansea's consolation late on.
Heads up: Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor nods home a cross from Christian Eriksen to give his side the lead against Swansea
Man in form: Nacer Chadli (left) joins Adebayor to celebrate his 35th minute header
Mobbed: (From left to right) Eriksen, Aaron Lennon, Danny Rose and Chadli (far right) congratulate Adebayor
The win moves Tottenham up to fifth, level on points with fourth-placed Liverpool as Tim Sherwood, who opted against sticking with a 4-4-2 formation here, remained unbeaten in the Premier League since taking over from Andre Villas-Boas.
Swansea, meanwhile, remain just three points above the relegation zone and their lengthy injury list and the alarming manner in which they faded following Adebayor's opener will be very troubling for manager Michael Laudrup.
Swansea had entered the game without a win in seven league games and their predicament had even led the usually reserved Laudrup to emit a rallying call that his side had six weeks to turn around their fortunes of face up to being involved in a relegation dogfight.
It appeared to have the desired effect as his players opened strongly.
Jonjo Shelvey was the first to work Hugo Lloris as he turned away from Vlad Chiriches and unleashed a fierce drive, with Bony firing a couple of yards wide on the turn.
Swansea's desire to push forward led to occasional midfield lapses, but Spurs were having trouble handling their hosts with the excellent Bony in particular causing all manner of problems.
The Ivorian beautifully checked inside Dawson and produced a howitzer of a shot which beat Lloris but smashed against the crossbar.
Dawson was fortunate not to concede a penalty from a corner seconds later, the Tottenham captain clearly pushed Bony as he rose to try and get in a header but referee Martin Atkinson, who was looking straight at the incident, did not act.
Big mistake: Swansea defender Chico Flores (second from right) can only watch as he accidentally turns the ball into his own net for Spurs' second goal
Take a bow: Tottenham defender Kyle Walker celebrates his side's second goal in front of the travelling supporters at the Liberty Stadium
Calmly done: Adebayor passes the ball beyond Swans keeper Gerhard Tremmel to put his side 3-0 up
On the up: Spurs defender Rose hugs Adebayor after his second goal of the afternoon
And Swansea's frustrations only grew when they fell behind.
Christian Eriksen produced a wonderful cross from the right to catch the Swansea defence out of position, with Adebayor completing the formalities from close range.
The Welsh club were rocked and any confidence built from a good opening half-hour quickly evaporated.
Not enough: Swansea striker Wilfried Bony scores late in the game to reduce Tottenham's advantage
In a hurry: Bony runs to collect the ball after scoring but Swansea couldn't mount a late comeback
Doubling up: Swansea pair Chico Flores (left) and Angel Rangel (right) work together to steal the ball from Spurs youngster Nabil Bentaleb (middle)
Under pressure: Spurs midfielder Eriksen (middle) is chased down by Swansea duo Leon Britton (left) and Ashley Williams (right)
So close: Swansea striker Wilfried Bony cracks the bar from long-range during the first half
Gerhard Tremmel then punched away a stinging Adebayor volley and Swansea were ultimately relieved to hear the half-time whistle.
But matters did not improve for them as Shelvey limped off with a hamstring problem to be replaced by Roland Lamah.
Within minutes Tottenham doubled their lead. Lamah lost Kyle Walker completely and it proved costly as Flores could only turn the full-back's cross into his own net.
Lloris again had to be alert to block another powerful Bony effort, while Flores headed over from a corner as the hosts sought a way back into the game.
But Swansea's need to push forward left them exposed defensively.
Moussa Dembele missed one sitter afer Lennon's pass outwitted the Swansea offside trap, but there was no such reprieve when Danny Rose raced down the left and pulled the ball across the box for Adebayor to calmly beat Tremmel and claim his second on the day and sixth in eight games.
Bony pulled one back for Swansea as he steered Lamah's scuffed cross beyond Lloris, but it was too little, too late.
On the run: Swans winger Alejandro Pozuelo (left) takes on Tottenham full-back Danny Rose (right)
In control: Swansea midfielder Britton attempts a long-range pass during the opening period
On the ball: Spurs midfielder Mousa Dembele (middle) twists away from Swansea' Jordi Amat (right)
The striker headed Spurs into a 35th-minute lead and then tapped in their third after a Chico Flores own goal had doubled the visitors' lead.
Wilfried Bony hit the bar and had a good penalty appeal for a push by Michael Dawson turned down in the first half, before getting Swansea's consolation late on.
Heads up: Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor nods home a cross from Christian Eriksen to give his side the lead against Swansea
Man in form: Nacer Chadli (left) joins Adebayor to celebrate his 35th minute header
Mobbed: (From left to right) Eriksen, Aaron Lennon, Danny Rose and Chadli (far right) congratulate Adebayor
The win moves Tottenham up to fifth, level on points with fourth-placed Liverpool as Tim Sherwood, who opted against sticking with a 4-4-2 formation here, remained unbeaten in the Premier League since taking over from Andre Villas-Boas.
Swansea, meanwhile, remain just three points above the relegation zone and their lengthy injury list and the alarming manner in which they faded following Adebayor's opener will be very troubling for manager Michael Laudrup.
Swansea had entered the game without a win in seven league games and their predicament had even led the usually reserved Laudrup to emit a rallying call that his side had six weeks to turn around their fortunes of face up to being involved in a relegation dogfight.
It appeared to have the desired effect as his players opened strongly.
Jonjo Shelvey was the first to work Hugo Lloris as he turned away from Vlad Chiriches and unleashed a fierce drive, with Bony firing a couple of yards wide on the turn.
Swansea's desire to push forward led to occasional midfield lapses, but Spurs were having trouble handling their hosts with the excellent Bony in particular causing all manner of problems.
The Ivorian beautifully checked inside Dawson and produced a howitzer of a shot which beat Lloris but smashed against the crossbar.
Dawson was fortunate not to concede a penalty from a corner seconds later, the Tottenham captain clearly pushed Bony as he rose to try and get in a header but referee Martin Atkinson, who was looking straight at the incident, did not act.
Big mistake: Swansea defender Chico Flores (second from right) can only watch as he accidentally turns the ball into his own net for Spurs' second goal
Take a bow: Tottenham defender Kyle Walker celebrates his side's second goal in front of the travelling supporters at the Liberty Stadium
Calmly done: Adebayor passes the ball beyond Swans keeper Gerhard Tremmel to put his side 3-0 up
On the up: Spurs defender Rose hugs Adebayor after his second goal of the afternoon
And Swansea's frustrations only grew when they fell behind.
Christian Eriksen produced a wonderful cross from the right to catch the Swansea defence out of position, with Adebayor completing the formalities from close range.
The Welsh club were rocked and any confidence built from a good opening half-hour quickly evaporated.
Not enough: Swansea striker Wilfried Bony scores late in the game to reduce Tottenham's advantage
In a hurry: Bony runs to collect the ball after scoring but Swansea couldn't mount a late comeback
Doubling up: Swansea pair Chico Flores (left) and Angel Rangel (right) work together to steal the ball from Spurs youngster Nabil Bentaleb (middle)
Under pressure: Spurs midfielder Eriksen (middle) is chased down by Swansea duo Leon Britton (left) and Ashley Williams (right)
So close: Swansea striker Wilfried Bony cracks the bar from long-range during the first half
Gerhard Tremmel then punched away a stinging Adebayor volley and Swansea were ultimately relieved to hear the half-time whistle.
But matters did not improve for them as Shelvey limped off with a hamstring problem to be replaced by Roland Lamah.
Within minutes Tottenham doubled their lead. Lamah lost Kyle Walker completely and it proved costly as Flores could only turn the full-back's cross into his own net.
Lloris again had to be alert to block another powerful Bony effort, while Flores headed over from a corner as the hosts sought a way back into the game.
But Swansea's need to push forward left them exposed defensively.
Moussa Dembele missed one sitter afer Lennon's pass outwitted the Swansea offside trap, but there was no such reprieve when Danny Rose raced down the left and pulled the ball across the box for Adebayor to calmly beat Tremmel and claim his second on the day and sixth in eight games.
Bony pulled one back for Swansea as he steered Lamah's scuffed cross beyond Lloris, but it was too little, too late.
On the run: Swans winger Alejandro Pozuelo (left) takes on Tottenham full-back Danny Rose (right)
In control: Swansea midfielder Britton attempts a long-range pass during the opening period
On the ball: Spurs midfielder Mousa Dembele (middle) twists away from Swansea' Jordi Amat (right)
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