Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

swallow one's words

Idioms  

  1. 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.

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.

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "swallow one's words" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com