swallow

¹

[ swol-oh ]

verb (used with object)

1. to take into the stomach by drawing through the throat and esophagus with a voluntary muscular action, as food, drink, or other substances.

   Synonyms: quaff, imbibe, drink, down, devour, gulp, ingest, eat

   Antonyms: void, egest

2. to take in so as to envelop; withdraw from sight; assimilate or absorb:

   He was swallowed by the crowd.

   Synonyms: surround, envelop, engulf

3. to accept without question or suspicion; believe; trust.

   Antonyms: discredit, disbelieve

4. to accept without opposition; put up with:

   to swallow an insult.

5. to accept for lack of an alternative:

   Consumers will have to swallow new price hikes.

6. to suppress (emotion, a laugh, a sob, etc.) as if by drawing it down one's throat.

   Synonyms: suppress, submerge, strangle, stifle, smother, repress, pocket, choke (back), hold in

   Antonyms: vent, express

7. to take back; retract:

   to swallow one's words.

8. to enunciate poorly; mutter:

   He swallowed his words.

verb (used without object)

1. to perform the act of swallowing.

noun

1. the act or an instance of swallowing.

   Synonyms: sip, draft, gulp, taste, nibble, morsel, bite

2. a quantity swallowed at one time; a mouthful:

   Take one swallow of brandy.

3. capacity for swallowing.
4. Also called crown, throat. Nautical, Machinery. the space in a block, between the groove of the sheave and the shell, through which the rope runs.

swallow

²

[ swol-oh ]

noun

1. any of numerous small, long-winged passerine birds of the family Hirundinidae, noted for their swift, graceful flight and for the extent and regularity of their migrations. Compare bank swallow ( def ), barn swallow ( def ), martin ( def ).
2. any of several unrelated, swallowlike birds, as the chimney swift.

swallow

¹

/ ˈswɒləʊ /

noun

1. any passerine songbird of the family Hirundinidae, esp Hirundo rustica ( common or barn swallow ), having long pointed wings, a forked tail, short legs, and a rapid flight hirundine
2. See fairy swallow

swallow

²

/ ˈswɒləʊ /

verb

1. to pass (food, drink, etc) through the mouth to the stomach by means of the muscular action of the oesophagus
2. often foll by up to engulf or destroy as if by ingestion

   Nazi Germany swallowed up several small countries

3. informal.
   to believe gullibly

   he will never swallow such an excuse

4. to refrain from uttering or manifesting

   to swallow one's disappointment

5. to endure without retaliation
6. to enunciate (words, etc) indistinctly; mutter
7. often foll by down to eat or drink reluctantly
8. intr to perform or simulate the act of swallowing, as in gulping
9. swallow one's words
   to retract a statement, argument, etc, often in humiliating circumstances

noun

1. the act of swallowing
2. the amount swallowed at any single time; mouthful
3. Also calledcrownthroat nautical the opening between the shell and the groove of the sheave of a block, through which the rope is passed
4. rare.
   another word for throat gullet
5. rare.
   a capacity for swallowing; appetite

Derived Forms

• ˈswallow-ˌlike, adjective
• ˈswallower, noun
• ˈswallowable, adjective

Other Words From

• swallow·a·ble adjective
• swallow·er noun
• un·swallow·a·ble adjective
• un·swallowed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of swallow¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English verb swolwen, swalwen, Old English swelgan; cognate with German schwelgen; akin to Old Norse svelgja; Middle English noun swolwe, swoluh, Old English geswelgh “throat, abyss, whirlpool”; akin to Middle Low German swelch, Old High German swelgo “glutton,” Old Norse svelgr “swirl, whirlpool; devourer”

Origin of swallow²

First recorded before 900; Middle English swal(e)we, Old English sweal(e)we; cognate with German Schwalbe, Old Norse svala

Word History and Origins

Origin of swallow¹

Old English swealwe; related to Old Frisian swale, Old Norse svala, Old High German swalwa

Origin of swallow²

Old English swelgan; related to Old Norse svelga, Old High German swelgan to swallow, Swedish svalg gullet

Idioms and Phrases

• bitter pill to swallow

Example Sentences

"Schools have to swallow this extra cost."

From BBC

Pundits are carving up poll data like a Thanksgiving ham — and the cut that’s proving the hardest for Democrats to swallow is Latino men.

From Los Angeles Times

To know that after heavy January rains, inevitably there will be a deep, V-shaped rut along the center of the trailhead, like a voracious alien mouth; or that in late May the mustard weed will be so wildly overgrown and bushy that it will completely swallow up the trailhead sign, post and all; or that for a brief window in late October-early November, two pink silk floss trees will bloom the color of bubble gum just below the Vista Del Valle lookout point.

From Los Angeles Times

I don’t lack the imagination to conceive of a different world, one in which our grand democratic process isn’t whittled down to a binary choice—but I know that the gulf between what should be reality and what is reality remains vast, and so it is without hesitation that I swallow the acrid pill of pragmatism and hope that enough fellow voters do the same.

From Slate

It is gutting to lose any national election, but this defeat will be particularly hard to swallow, because it means a decade of trying to convince our fellow Americans that they should draw the line at a commitment to bare-minimum procedural democracy will have failed.

From Slate

Related Words

• absorb
• devour
• drink
• eat
• gobble
• gulp
• ingest
• inhale
• wash down