swill

[ swil ]
See synonyms for: swillswilledswilling on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. liquid or partly liquid food for animals, especially kitchen refuse given to swine; hogwash.

  2. kitchen refuse in general; garbage.

  1. any liquid mess, waste, or refuse; slop.

  2. a deep draught of liquor.

  3. contemptibly worthless utterance or writing; drivel.

verb (used without object)
  1. to drink greedily or excessively.

verb (used with object)
  1. to drink (something) greedily or to excess; guzzle.

  2. to feed (animals) with swill: to swill hogs.

  1. Chiefly British. to wash by rinsing or flooding with water.

Origin of swill

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English verb swilen “to wash, swirl,”Old English swilian, swillan

Other words from swill

  • swiller, noun
  • un·swilled, adjective

Words Nearby swill

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use swill in a sentence

  • It was when one of the table-legs overturned the swill-pail that the long pent-up storm burst in a torrent of invective.

  • The corners of its mouth are permanently turned up so that it can hardly stop smiling even when it is squealing for swill.

  • She was so full that we were afraid to give her the usual ration of swill for fear she would swell up and burst.

  • Lightning flashed and forked athwart the clouded firmament, from which fell rain, not in drops, but sheets—a very swill of it.

    The Vee-Boers | Mayne Reid
  • Then I went goes in a quick way to the singing creek where the willows grow, to get the swill-smells off.

    The Story of Opal | Opal Whiteley

British Dictionary definitions for swill

swill

/ (swɪl) /


verb
  1. to drink large quantities of (liquid, esp alcoholic drink); guzzle

  2. (tr often foll by out) mainly British to drench or rinse in large amounts of water

  1. (tr) to feed swill to (pigs, etc)

noun
  1. wet feed, esp for pigs, consisting of kitchen waste, skimmed milk, etc

  2. garbage or refuse, esp from a kitchen

  1. a deep draught of drink, esp beer

  2. any liquid mess

  3. the act of swilling

Origin of swill

1
Old English swilian to wash out

Derived forms of swill

  • swiller, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012