swig
Americannoun
verb (used with or without object)
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
swigsimple
-
swigssimple
-
have swiggedperfect
-
has swiggedperfect
-
am swiggingprogressive
-
are swiggingprogressive
-
is swiggingprogressive
-
have been swiggingperfect progressive
-
has been swiggingperfect progressive
Past
-
swiggedsimple
-
had swiggedperfect
-
was swiggingprogressive
-
were swiggingprogressive
-
had been swiggingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of swig
First recorded in 1540–50; origin uncertain
Explanation
A swig is a big, fast gulp, like the swig you take from your water bottle after hiking up a hill on a hot summer day. If your dainty friend is delicately sipping her iced tea while you swig yours, you'll definitely be finished first. To swig is to take a big, healthy slurp of a drink. Originally this informal word was associated with alcoholic beverages, but today you can use it for anything you're drinking with gusto. Experts aren't sure where swig comes from, but some guess it's connected to the Old English swelgan, "to swallow."
Vocabulary lists containing swig
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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.
But by the 1960s, it was much diminished, and a later owner, Benjamin Swig, had sold close to 1,000 antiques and artworks to help pay bills.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026
In February, visits to Swig stores were up 30.7% year over year, and up 137.9% from February 2023, retail-traffic analytics firm Placer.ai said in a report last month.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 29, 2026
Utah-based chain Swig — with some amplification from social media —helped make dirty soda a hit, as a story from Eater noted last year.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 29, 2026
Upstart beverage chains like Swig have quickly grown in recent years in response to demand for so-called dirty sodas and fruity refreshers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026
And Swig says: "Well, Mr. Febrile, have you ever acted ill?" which will carry off the piece.
From The Letters of Charles Dickens Vol. 1, 1833-1856 by Hogarth, Georgina
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.
