swallow

¹

[ swol-oh ]

verb (used with object)

1. to take into the stomach by drawing through the throat and esophagus with a voluntary muscular action, as food, drink, or other substances.

   Synonyms: quaff, imbibe, drink, down, devour, gulp, ingest, eat

   Antonyms: void, egest

2. to take in so as to envelop; withdraw from sight; assimilate or absorb:

   He was swallowed by the crowd.

   Synonyms: surround, envelop, engulf

3. to accept without question or suspicion; believe; trust.

   Antonyms: discredit, disbelieve

4. to accept without opposition; put up with:

   to swallow an insult.

5. to accept for lack of an alternative:

   Consumers will have to swallow new price hikes.

6. to suppress (emotion, a laugh, a sob, etc.) as if by drawing it down one's throat.

   Synonyms: suppress, submerge, strangle, stifle, smother, repress, pocket, choke (back), hold in

   Antonyms: vent, express

7. to take back; retract:

   to swallow one's words.

8. to enunciate poorly; mutter:

   He swallowed his words.

verb (used without object)

1. to perform the act of swallowing.

noun

1. the act or an instance of swallowing.

   Synonyms: sip, draft, gulp, taste, nibble, morsel, bite

2. a quantity swallowed at one time; a mouthful:

   Take one swallow of brandy.

3. capacity for swallowing.
4. 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.

swallow

²

[ swol-oh ]

noun

1. 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 ( def ), barn swallow ( def ), martin ( def ).
2. any of several unrelated, swallowlike birds, as the chimney swift.

swallow

¹

/ ˈswɒləʊ /

verb

1. to pass (food, drink, etc) through the mouth to the stomach by means of the muscular action of the oesophagus
2. often foll by up to engulf or destroy as if by ingestion

   Nazi Germany swallowed up several small countries

3. informal.
   to believe gullibly

   he will never swallow such an excuse

4. to refrain from uttering or manifesting

   to swallow one's disappointment

5. to endure without retaliation
6. to enunciate (words, etc) indistinctly; mutter
7. often foll by down to eat or drink reluctantly
8. intr to perform or simulate the act of swallowing, as in gulping
9. swallow one's words
   swallow one's words to retract a statement, argument, etc, often in humiliating circumstances

noun

1. the act of swallowing
2. the amount swallowed at any single time; mouthful
3. Also calledcrownthroat nautical the opening between the shell and the groove of the sheave of a block, through which the rope is passed
4. See gullet, throat
   rare.
   another word for throat gullet
5. rare.
   a capacity for swallowing; appetite

swallow

²

/ ˈswɒləʊ /

noun

1. 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 hirundine
2. See fairy swallow
   See fairy swallow

Derived Forms

• ˈswallowable, adjective
• ˈswallower, noun
• ˈswallow-ˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• swallow·a·ble adjective
• swallow·er noun
• un·swallow·a·ble adjective
• un·swallowed adjective

Word History and Origins

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of swallow¹

Old English swelgan; related to Old Norse svelga, Old High German swelgan to swallow, Swedish svalg gullet

Origin of swallow²

Old English swealwe; related to Old Frisian swale, Old Norse svala, Old High German swalwa

Idioms and Phrases

• bitter pill to swallow

Example Sentences

For swallows and other birds that nest in holes and hollows, competition for nests can “be really ferocious,” Wiebe says.

From Science News For Students

The 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.

From Science News

She 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.

From Popular-Science

This 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.

From Popular-Science

What 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.

From Washington Post

For Randy, a 50-year-old ex-Mormon gay man, this cure was a particularly bitter pill to swallow.

From The Daily Beast

For the Times, which had won four Pulitzer Prizes in 2013, the Snowden slip-up was a bitter pill to swallow.

From The Daily Beast

Even more difficult to swallow: Perry likes to put his name in front of a lot of his projects.

From The Daily Beast

It's a hard pill to swallow not because the show isn't good.

From The Daily Beast

Jordan is in an even more delicate position, and a country that ISIS would dearly like to swallow.

From The Daily Beast

Hunger had to be satisfied, however, and I had to swallow my pride and my five-pennyworth.

From Project Gutenberg

In smoking, they swallow the fumes of the tobacco which causes intoxication for a time.

From Project Gutenberg

The birds that build them swallow a certain kind of glutinous weed growing on the coral rocks.

From Project Gutenberg

Here was something for the "babes and sucklings" of the craft of violin making to swallow.

From Project Gutenberg

I doa'nt swallow that story o' her'n. Depend upon it, man, it be a big lie fro' beginning to end.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• absorb
• devour
• drink
• eat
• gobble
• gulp
• ingest
• inhale
• wash down