swallow
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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swallows,
present (3rd person singular)
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swallowed,
past participle, past
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swallowing
present participle
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to take into the stomach by drawing through the throat and esophagus with a voluntary muscular action, as food, drink, or other substances.
-
to take in so as to envelop; withdraw from sight; assimilate or absorb.
He was swallowed by the crowd.
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to accept without question or suspicion; believe; trust.
- Antonyms:
- discredit, disbelieve
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to accept without opposition; put up with.
to swallow an insult.
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to accept for lack of an alternative.
Consumers will have to swallow new price hikes.
-
to suppress (emotion, a laugh, a sob, etc.) as if by drawing it down one's throat.
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to take back; retract.
to swallow one's words.
-
to enunciate poorly; mutter.
He swallowed his words.
verb (used without object)
-
swallows,
present (3rd person singular)
-
swallowed,
past participle, past
-
swallowing
present participle
noun
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the act or an instance of swallowing.
-
a quantity swallowed at one time; a mouthful.
Take one swallow of brandy.
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capacity for swallowing.
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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.
noun
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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.
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any of several unrelated, swallowlike birds, as the chimney swift.
verb
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to pass (food, drink, etc) through the mouth to the stomach by means of the muscular action of the oesophagus
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(often foll by up) to engulf or destroy as if by ingestion
Nazi Germany swallowed up several small countries
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informal to believe gullibly
he will never swallow such an excuse
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to refrain from uttering or manifesting
to swallow one's disappointment
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to endure without retaliation
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to enunciate (words, etc) indistinctly; mutter
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(often foll by down) to eat or drink reluctantly
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(intr) to perform or simulate the act of swallowing, as in gulping
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to retract a statement, argument, etc, often in humiliating circumstances
noun
noun
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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
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See fairy swallow
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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swallowernoun
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swallow-likeadjective
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swallowableadjective
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unswallowableadjective
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unswallowedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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swallowsimple
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swallowssimple
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have swallowedperfect
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has swallowedperfect
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am swallowingprogressive
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are swallowingprogressive
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is swallowingprogressive
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have been swallowingperfect progressive
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has been swallowingperfect progressive
Past
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swallowedsimple
-
had swallowedperfect
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was swallowingprogressive
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were swallowingprogressive
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had been swallowingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
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
Explanation
When you swallow food or liquid is pushed from your mouth to the esophagus. Chew your food well before you swallow it. As a verb, swallow means "to enclose or envelop completely," like quicksand that swallows everything that falls into it. Swallow can also mean "to stop from expressing," like when you swallow your pride and ask for help. The noun swallow describes a gulp, though you don't always do it for digestion; sometimes a few swallows of air help you keep from crying. A swallow is also a type of small songbird.
Vocabulary lists containing swallow
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 2
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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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Unit 2: Pivotal Words and Phrases
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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:
Losing Stewart for longer than that would be a bitter pill for USC to swallow at the start of a highly anticipated season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Whatever solutions Bessent or lawmakers agree on, longtime budget watchers see a tough pill for Americans to swallow.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
“That’s a hard pill to swallow for a lot of marketers.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Furthermore, if anyone asks you the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow, the proper answer is “African or European?”
From Salon ● Jul. 31, 2026
The sobs came then, faster than she could swallow.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
In “Rare Bird” a woman in 18th-century England finds pleasure in the company of a new friend, who helps her test a claim from the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus that swallows hibernate underwater.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Smoke swallows civilization while sparks fall around the baroque column of the Fuente de los Luceros.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026
It takes place within an open-air arena which not only resembles a giant bird nest but is also actually being used as one - swallows moved into the rafters within days of its completion.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
We learned about the annual return of swallows, admired blooming roses and citrus trees and absorbed a simple story: Spanish conquistadors and Catholic priests tamed a wild land, and we should follow their example.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026
Thankful, Jonathan filled the cup with milk by dipping it into the bucket, then drew it out and drank it down in two quick swallows.
From "The Fighting Ground" by Avi
Jack had reached for a vol-au-vent, swallowed it whole in one bite, rinsed it down with a glass of champagne and seized center stage all in one action.
From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2026
They are also blocked by motorcycles, swallowed by parked cars, encroachments or excavated for utility works.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
So far, the raptor center says it has ruled out lead poisoning and the presence of swallowed objects, among other things.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Judging from the amount of lithium detected in TOI-5882, the researchers estimate that the swallowed planet may have been somewhere between a couple of Earth masses and the mass of Neptune.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 16, 2026
But he’d only just swallowed the pignut when his belly heaved, and he spewed it up again.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
Americans eat twice as much chicken today as they did in the 1970s, and fast-food places focusing specifically on chicken began swallowing truly staggering amounts of market share.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
Along the disused line from Woljeong-ri towards Baengmagoji station to the south -- the section to be restored under the peace project -- vegetation crowds both sides of the tracks, nearly swallowing a stone wall.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
"We found the exhausted after swallowing a lot of seawater," he told the news agency, adding "they were pale, especially the boys".
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Kim Varet said her supporters have “obviously put a lot of thought into” which of the incumbents to support, but they have had a hard time swallowing the idea of voting for either.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
She spoke slowly and carefully, swallowing to hide her dread.
From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin
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.
