swallow
Plural: swallows
Noun
- a small amount of liquid food
- the act of swallowing
- "one swallow of the liquid was enough"
- small long-winged songbird noted for swift graceful flight and the regularity of its migrations
- A deep chasm or abyss in the earth.
- The mouth and throat; that which is used for swallowing; the gullet.
- The amount swallowed in one gulp; the act of swallowing.
- The opening in a pulley block between the sheave and shell through which the rope passes.
- Any of various carbohydrate-based dishes that are swallowed without much chewing.
- A small, migratory bird of the Hirundinidae family with long, pointed, moon-shaped wings and a forked tail which feeds on the wing by catching insects.
Verb
Verb Forms: swallowed, swallowing, swallows
- To cause food or drink to pass down the throat.
- pass through the esophagus as part of eating or drinking
- "Swallow the raw fish--it won't kill you!"
- engulf and destroy
- "The Nazis swallowed the Baltic countries"
- enclose or envelop completely, as if by swallowing
- "The huge waves swallowed the small boat and it sank shortly thereafter"
- utter indistinctly
- "She swallowed the last words of her speech"
- take back what one has said
- "He swallowed his words"
- keep from expressing
- "I swallowed my anger and kept quiet"
- tolerate or accommodate oneself to
- "I swallowed the insult"
- believe or accept without questioning or challenge
- "Am I supposed to swallow that story?"
- To cause (food, drink etc.) to pass from the mouth into the stomach; to take into the stomach through the throat.
- To take (something) in so that it disappears; to consume, absorb.
- To take food down into the stomach; to make the muscular contractions of the oesophagus to achieve this, often taken as a sign of nervousness or strong emotion.
- To accept easily or without questions; to believe, accept.
- To engross; to appropriate; usually with up.
- To retract; to recant.
- To put up with; to bear patiently or without retaliation.
Examples
- He had to swallow his pride after being beaten by a newcomer in Scrabble.
- He took the aspirin with a single swallow of water.
- My throat was so sore that I was unable to swallow.
- to swallow an affront or insult
- to swallow one's opinions
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English swolowen, swolwen, swolȝen, swelwen, swelȝen, from Old English swelgan, from Proto-West Germanic *swelgan, from Proto-Germanic *swelganą (“to swallow, revel, devour”), from Proto-Indo-European *swelk- (“to gulp”). Cognate with Dutch zwelgen (“to revel, carouse, guzzle”), German schwelgen (“to delight, indulge”), Swedish svälja (“to swallow, gulp”), Icelandic svelgja (“to swallow”), Old English swillan, swilian (“to swill, wash out, gargle”). See also swill.
The noun is from Middle English swelwe, swolwe, from Old English swelh, swelg (“gulf, chasm”) and ġeswelge (“gulf, chasm, abyss, whirlpool”), both from Proto-West Germanic *swelg, *swalgi, from Proto-Germanic *swelgaz, *swalgiz. Cognate with Old English swiliġe (“pit”), Scots swelch, swellie, swallie (“an abyss in the sea, whirpool”), Middle Low German swelch (“whirlpool, eddy”), Dutch zwelg (“gorge, chasm, gullet, throat”), Old Norse svelgr (“whirlpool, current, stream”).
Synonyms
accept, bury, deglutition, drink, eat up, get down, immerse, live with, sup, swallow up, take back, unsay, withdraw, abear, abide, abjure, absorb, aby, add on, allow, assimilate, backpedal, bear, bide, brook, buy, co-opt, consume, corporate, credit, devour, disavow, disown, dree, eat, eat one's words, endure, engulf, forbear, go along with, gulp, incorporate, incorpse, integrate, martin, monopolize, occupy, pass, pocket, pouch, put up with, recall, recant, retract, revoke, stand, stick, stomach, subsume, suffer, swallow, take, take over, take sitting down, thole, tolerate, undergang, undergo, unspeak, walk back, withcall
Scrabble Score: 13
swallow: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordswallow: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
swallow: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary