guzzle
Americanverb (used with or without object)
-
guzzles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
guzzled,
past participle, past
-
guzzling
present participle
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
guzzlesimple
-
guzzlessimple
-
have guzzledperfect
-
has guzzledperfect
-
am guzzlingprogressive
-
are guzzlingprogressive
-
is guzzlingprogressive
-
have been guzzlingperfect progressive
-
has been guzzlingperfect progressive
Past
-
guzzledsimple
-
had guzzledperfect
-
was guzzlingprogressive
-
were guzzlingprogressive
-
had been guzzlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of guzzle
First recorded in 1570–80; origin uncertain
Explanation
To guzzle is to gulp down a liquid very quickly. After running a marathon, you might be tempted to guzzle Gatorade, but it's important to sip slowly so you don't get sick. If your brother somehow manages to drink an entire gallon of milk in two days, he guzzles it. And, if your big old car needs to be refueled several times a week, you can say it guzzles gas. Experts guess that the root of guzzle is the Old French word gosillier, which means "to go down the gullet," but also "to vomit."
Vocabulary lists containing guzzle
The BFG
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
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The Losers Club
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
PHOENIX—A new style of architecture is rising in the sprawling suburbs of the Sonoran Desert: windowless data centers that hum 24 hours a day and guzzle as much electricity as a midsize city.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
Data centres could guzzle 9.32 trillion litres of water by 2030, enough to meet the annual basic water needs of the entire population of sub-Saharan Africa, the report said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026
Ratepayers’ utility bills have been on the rise as new artificial-intelligence data centers guzzle power and utility companies upgrade aging power grids.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 6, 2026
But: With osteoporosis the clear nemesis in all of this, it’s time to guzzle milk and inhale other calcium-rich food to shore up my bones, right?
From Slate ● Feb. 27, 2025
“Your friend sold it to us for a nice guzzle of water.”
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
Trust is why the world unhesitatingly guzzles a dark, mysterious liquid that might otherwise appear toxic—because it bears the Coke brand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
Millions of tourists a year flock to the region, affecting the entire underground as the industry guzzles water and sewage seeps through the earth and into the caves, killing fish and other wildlife.
From Seattle Times ● May 30, 2024
In the two-minute video, Paddington guzzles tea in front of the queen, before offering a spare marmalade sandwich to make up for his poor table manners.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 20, 2022
The Abrams typically weighs nearly 80 tons, and it has a gas-turbine engine that infamously guzzles fuel and would create an even greater logistical burden on Ukrainian forces, the U.S. official said.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 16, 2022
She guzzles a vial of her specially made Belle-rose elixir and climbs onto the bed.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
Mountain Valley’s green glass bottles, guzzled by Jay-Z and Gwyneth Paltrow, were for moguls.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
While he munched and guzzled on donuts, fried chicken and glasses of wine through the first film, now he’s drinking espresso and enjoying “croy-sants” and gelato in Europe.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2025
Last Friday, he marked the debut in Israel of a familiar American convenience store chain with a tweet proclaiming, “Oh, thank heaven for 7-11” and an accompanying video in which he joyously guzzled a Slurpee.
From New York Times ● Apr. 5, 2023
Two dogs helped prevent Tonni, a tiny loggerhead sea turtle, from being guzzled by gulls on Moel y Don beach on Anglesey on Thursday.
From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2023
They shoveled down five-cent hot dogs at Nathan’s, ate cotton candy, guzzled ice- cold Coca-Colas.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
Along steep and narrow trails, a few rustic taverns for wine guzzling seem incongruous in the midst of all of the ruggedness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026
“Indeed, neither the Gulf war nor Russia-Ukraine could stop oil barrels guzzling out.”
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 28, 2026
The ruling disrupted fertility treatments that are expensive, physically and emotionally taxing, and extremely time-sensitive, guzzling precious resources that many couples did not have.
From New York Times ● Mar. 7, 2024
She also thought the design was clever — a straw for sipping and a larger spout for guzzling.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2024
‘Giants is never guzzling other giants,’ the BFG said.
From "The BFG" by Roald Dahl
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
