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 swilling

“Swilling the Planters With Bumbo: When Booze Bought Elections,” at Smithsonian.com.
The Independent Rundown, November 6|Matthew DeLuca|November 6, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Four parties, many celebs, and a night of swilling for Obama.
Where We Found Ethan Hawke, Harvey Weinstein, and Jessica Alba Last Night|Rachel Syme|November 5, 2008|DAILY BEAST
I suppose I can't keep him from swilling tea while I am away doing my part to help the Allies.
Bab: A Sub-Deb|Mary Roberts Rinehart
They are horrid things, for they are never happy but when they are swilling ale.
The Last of the Vikings|John Bowling

He could have spent his nights thinking up new business tricks, instead of swilling whiskey.
The Day Time Stopped Moving|Bradner Buckner
He stood on top of a table and faced his crew of pirates who were sitting about swilling large cups of rocket juice.
On the Trail of the Space Pirates|Carey Rockwell
I expect you've been swilling out that drawer in the heat of your ablutions.
Witching Hill|E. W. Hornung

British Dictionary definitions for swilling

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 swilling

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 swilling

swill

verb

noun

Word Origin for swill

swill

swill