swizzle

American  

[swiz-uhl] / ˈswɪz əl /

noun

1. a tall drink, originating in Barbados, composed of full-flavored West Indian rum, lime juice, crushed ice, and sugar: typically served with a swizzle stick.

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verb (used with object)

swizzled, swizzling

1. to agitate (a beverage) with a swizzle stick.

2. to gulp down; guzzle.

swizzle British  

/ ˈswɪzəl /

noun

1. an unshaken cocktail

2. an alcoholic drink containing gin or rum

3. informal a swiz

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verb

1. (tr) to stir a swizzle stick in (a drink)

2. informal to swindle; cheat

Other Word Forms

• swizzler noun

Etymology

Origin of swizzle

First recorded in 1805–15; origin uncertain

Example Sentences

The South Carolina license plate on the Honda stopped in front of me at a red light, and its silhouette of the state’s signature palm looking regrettably like a tarantula atop a swizzle stick.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2025

Also included are a champagne swizzle stick and a metal-mounted foliate cocktail stick holder.

From BBC • Nov. 20, 2023

Mr. Johnson is more likely to keynote at the annual meetings of Wall Street banks than serve as the swizzle stick at a professional mixer.

From New York Times • Oct. 10, 2022

Crush peppermint candies over whipped cream on coffee drinks, or even drop in a candy stick for an innovative way to swizzle.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 15, 2022

My mother kept all of us on a diet of rice and guava leaves in the form of hourly cups of steamy tea, with sugarcane swizzle sticks.

From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer