swill

[ swil ]

/ swɪl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR swill ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

liquid or partly liquid food for animals, especially kitchen refuse given to swine; hogwash.

kitchen refuse in general; garbage.

any liquid mess, waste, or refuse; slop.

a deep draught of liquor.

contemptibly worthless utterance or writing; drivel.

verb (used without object)

to drink greedily or excessively.

verb (used with object)

to drink (something) greedily or to excess; guzzle.

to feed (animals) with swill: to swill hogs.

Chiefly British. to wash by rinsing or flooding with water.

Nearby words

Origin of swill

before 900; Middle English swilen (v.), Old English swilian, swillan

Related formsswill·er, nounun·swilled, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for swill

Eea, aw reckon aw have, but if aw havn't spoilt th' swill aw dooant care.
Yorksher Puddin'|John Hartley
So avaricious is that animal, that no amount of swill seems to pacify his desire to overthrow principles and defeat great objects.
The Adventures of My Cousin Smooth|Timothy Templeton
We were then standing in the open close by a swill heap and the bear was coming toward us, there being no timber intervening.
Hunting in Many Lands|Various
Let them enjoy the swill and sunshine and other good things of life while they may.
In Pastures Green|Peter McArthur

Then he picked up the bucket of swill and ran over to feed the pigs.
Polly and Eleanor|Lillian Elizabeth Roy

British Dictionary definitions for swill

swill

/ (swɪl) /

verb

to drink large quantities of (liquid, esp alcoholic drink); guzzle

(tr often foll by out) mainly British to drench or rinse in large amounts of water

(tr) to feed swill to (pigs, etc)

noun

wet feed, esp for pigs, consisting of kitchen waste, skimmed milk, etc

garbage or refuse, esp from a kitchen

a deep draught of drink, esp beer

any liquid mess

the act of swilling

Derived Formsswiller, noun

Word Origin for swill

Old English swilian to wash out

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

Word Origin and History for swill

swill

Old English swilian, swillan "to wash, gargle," with no certain cognates, but probably from Proto-Germanic *sweljanan, related to the root of swallow (v.). Meaning "drink greedily" is from 1530s. Related: Swilled; swilling.

swill

"liquid kitchen refuse fed to pigs," 1550s, from swill (v.).

swill

noun

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of swill

Examples from the Web for swill

swill

verb

noun

Word Origin for swill

swill

swill