swallow
1to 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.
to accept without opposition; put up with: to swallow an insult.
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.
to take back; retract: to swallow one's words.
to enunciate poorly; mutter: He swallowed his words.
to perform the act of swallowing.
Origin of swallow
1Other words for swallow
Opposites for swallow
Other words from swallow
- swal·low·a·ble, adjective
- swal·low·er, noun
- un·swal·low·a·ble, adjective
- un·swal·lowed, adjective
Words Nearby swallow
Other definitions for swallow (2 of 2)
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.: Compare bank swallow, barn swallow, martin.
any of several unrelated, swallowlike birds, as the chimney swift.
Origin of swallow
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use swallow in a sentence
For swallows and other birds that nest in holes and hollows, competition for nests can “be really ferocious,” Wiebe says.
Analyze This: Birds may decorate nests to scare off rivals | Carolyn Wilke | March 15, 2022 | Science News For StudentsThe swallow reflex probably activates the muscle that pulls the plug up to the top of its throat, blocking the upper airways and letting prey slide into its digestive tract.
A ‘trapdoor’ made of muscle and fat helps fin whales eat without choking | Sharon Oosthoek | January 20, 2022 | Science NewsShe hopes to figure out which birds are risky so that US farms can be more sustainable and safe for a kid snacking on an apple and the swallows swooping through the sky.
These bird species are most likely to contaminate our fruits and veggies | Nikita Amir | January 9, 2022 | Popular-ScienceThis is a tedious process without a pot, but you can melt a few swallows at a time in a piece of tinfoil, a can or bottle discarded by a sloppy hiker.
How to survive three days in the wild | By Keith McCafferty/Field & Stream | January 26, 2021 | Popular-ScienceWhat was uncontestable — especially during a moment when most things felt like a tough swallow — was that it was a movement that seemed to go down remarkably easily.
Almost anarchy: The Style Council and the smooth sounds of sophisti-pop | Mina Tavakoli | November 20, 2020 | Washington Post
For Randy, a 50-year-old ex-Mormon gay man, this cure was a particularly bitter pill to swallow.
Your Husband Is Definitely Gay: TLC’s Painful Portrait of Mormonism | Samantha Allen | January 1, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTFor the Times, which had won four Pulitzer Prizes in 2013, the Snowden slip-up was a bitter pill to swallow.
Is The Guardian Holding Back The New York Times’ Snowden Stories? | Lloyd Grove | October 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTEven more difficult to swallow: Perry likes to put his name in front of a lot of his projects.
Gone Girl’s Biggest Twist Is the Superb Tyler Perry | Alex Suskind | October 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIt's a hard pill to swallow not because the show isn't good.
The Biggest Emmys Snubs and Surprises: 'Modern Family,' McConaughey, and More | Kevin Fallon | August 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTJordan is in an even more delicate position, and a country that ISIS would dearly like to swallow.
Hunger had to be satisfied, however, and I had to swallow my pride and my five-pennyworth.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland | Joseph TatlowIn smoking, they swallow the fumes of the tobacco which causes intoxication for a time.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.The birds that build them swallow a certain kind of glutinous weed growing on the coral rocks.
Alila, Our Little Philippine Cousin | Mary Hazelton WadeHere was something for the "babes and sucklings" of the craft of violin making to swallow.
Antonio Stradivari | Horace William PetherickI doa'nt swallow that story o' her'n. Depend upon it, man, it be a big lie fro' beginning to end.
The World Before Them | Susanna Moodie
British Dictionary definitions for swallow (1 of 2)
/ (ˈswɒləʊ) /
to pass (food, drink, etc) through the mouth to the stomach by means of the muscular action of the oesophagus
(often foll by up) to engulf or destroy as if by ingestion: Nazi Germany swallowed up several small countries
informal to believe gullibly: he will never swallow such an excuse
to refrain from uttering or manifesting: to swallow one's disappointment
to endure without retaliation
to enunciate (words, etc) indistinctly; mutter
(often foll by down) to eat or drink reluctantly
(intr) to perform or simulate the act of swallowing, as in gulping
swallow one's words to retract a statement, argument, etc, often in humiliating circumstances
Origin of swallow
1Derived forms of swallow
- swallowable, adjective
- swallower, noun
British Dictionary definitions for swallow (2 of 2)
/ (ˈswɒləʊ) /
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: Related adjective: hirundine
See fairy swallow
Origin of swallow
2Derived forms of swallow
- swallow-like, adjective
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with swallow
In addition to the idioms beginning with swallow
- swallow one's pride
- swallow one's words
also see:
- bitter pill to swallow
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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