definitions

swallow one's words

Take back what one said, as in If they win I'll have to swallow my words. George Farquhar used this idiom in The Inconstant (1702): “I have swallowed my words already; I have eaten them up.” For a synonym, see eat one's words.

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Nearby words

swallet, swallow, swallow dive, swallow hole, swallow one's pride, swallow one's words, swallow-tailed, swallow-tailed coat, swallow-tailed kite, swallow-tanager, swallowing reflex
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.