swallow definition | Dictionary.com

swal⋅low

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.

2.	to take in so as to envelop; withdraw from sight; assimilate or absorb: He was swallowed by the crowd.

3.	to accept without question or suspicion.

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.

7.	to take back; retract: to swallow one's words.

8.	to enunciate poorly; mutter: He swallowed his words.

–verb (used without object)

9.	to perform the act of swallowing.

–noun

10.	the act or an instance of swallowing.

11.	a quantity swallowed at one time; a mouthful: Take one swallow of brandy.

12.	capacity for swallowing.

13.	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.

Origin:
bef. 1000; (v.) ME swalwen, var. of swelwen, OE swelgan; c. G schwelgen; akin to ON svelgja; (n.) ME swalwe, swolgh throat, abyss, whirlpool, OE geswelgh (see y- ); akin to MLG swelch, OHG swelgo glutton, ON svelgr whirlpool, devourer

Related forms:

swal⋅low⋅a⋅ble, adjective

swal⋅low⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
1. eat, gulp, drink. 2. engulf, devour. 10. gulp, draught, drink.

swal⋅low

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, barn swallow, martin.

2.	any of several unrelated, swallowlike birds, as the chimney swift.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME swalwe, OE swealwe; c. G Schwalbe, ON svala

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To swallow

swal·low¹ (swŏl'ō)

v. swal·lowed, swal·low·ing, swal·lows

v. tr.

To cause (food or drink, for example) to pass through the mouth and throat into the stomach.
To put up with (something unpleasant): swallowed the insults and kept on working.
To refrain from expressing; suppress: swallow one's feelings.
To consume or destroy as if by ingestion; devour: a building that was swallowed up by fire.
Slang To believe without question: swallowed the alibi.
To take back; retract: swallow one's words.
To say inarticulately; mumble: The actor swallowed his lines.

v. intr.
To perform the act of swallowing.
n.

The act of swallowing.
An amount swallowed.
Nautical The channel through which a rope runs in a block or a mooring chock.

[Middle English swalowen, from Old English swelgan; see swel- in Indo-European roots.]
swal'low·er n.

swal·low² (swŏl'ō)

Any of various small graceful swift-flying passerine birds of the family Hirundinidae, having long pointed wings, a usually notched or forked tail, and a large mouth for catching flying insects and noted for their regular migrations in large numbers, often over long distances.
Any of various similar birds, such as a swift.

[Middle English swalowe, from Old English swealwe.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Swallow

Swal"low\, n. [OE. swalowe, AS. swalewe, swealwe; akin to D. zwaluw, OHG. swalawa, G. schwalbe, Icel. & Sw. svala, Dan. svale.]

1. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous species of passerine birds of the family Hirundinid[ae], especially one of those species in which the tail is deeply forked. They have long, pointed wings, and are noted for the swiftness and gracefulness of their flight.

Note: The most common North American species are the barn swallow (see under Barn), the cliff, or eaves, swallow (see under Cliff), the white-bellied, or tree, swallow (Tachycineta bicolor), and the bank swallow (see under Bank). The common European swallow (Chelidon rustica), and the window swallow, or martin (Chelidon urbica), are familiar species.

2. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous species of swifts which resemble the true swallows in form and habits, as the common American chimney swallow, or swift.

3. (Naut.) The aperture in a block through which the rope reeves. --Ham. Nav. Encyc.

Swallow plover (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of fork-tailed ploverlike birds of the genus Glareola, as G. orientalis of India; a pratincole.

Swallow shrike (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of East Indian and Asiatic birds of the family Artamiid[ae], allied to the shrikes but similar to swallows in appearance and habits. The ashy swallow shrike (Artamus fuscus) is common in India.

Swallow warbler (Zo["o]l.), any one of numerous species of East Indian and Australian singing birds of the genus Dic[ae]um. They are allied to the honeysuckers.

Swallow

Swal"low\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Swallowed; p. pr. & vb. n. Swallowing.] [OE. swolewen, swolwen, swolhen, AS. swelgan; akin to D. zwelgen, OHG. swelahan, swelgan, G. schwelgen to feast, to revel, Icel. svelgia to swallow, SW. sv["a]lja, Dan. sv[ae]lge. Cf. Groundsel a plant.]

1. To take into the stomach; to receive through the gullet, or esophagus, into the stomach; as, to swallow food or drink.

As if I had swallowed snowballs for pills. --Shak.

2. To draw into an abyss or gulf; to ingulf; to absorb -- usually followed by up. --Milton.

The earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses. --Num. xvi. 32.

3. To receive or embrace, as opinions or belief, without examination or scruple; to receive implicitly.

Though that story . . . be not so readily swallowed. --Sir T. Browne.

4. To engross; to appropriate; -- usually with up.

Homer excels . . . in this, that he swallowed up the honor of those who succeeded him. --Pope.

5. To occupy; to take up; to employ.

The necessary provision of the life swallows the greatest part of their time. --Locke.

6. To seize and waste; to exhaust; to consume.

Corruption swallowed what the liberal hand Of bounty scattered. --Thomson.

7. To retract; to recant; as, to swallow one's opinions. "Swallowed his vows whole." --Shak.

8. To put up with; to bear patiently or without retaliation; as, to swallow an affront or insult.

Syn: To absorb; imbibe; ingulf; engross; consume. See Absorb.

Swallow

Swal"low\, v. i. To perform the act of swallowing; as, his cold is so severe he is unable to swallow.

Swallow

Swal"low\, n. 1. The act of swallowing.

2. The gullet, or esophagus; the throat.

3. Taste; relish; inclination; liking. [Colloq.]

I have no swallow for it. --Massinger.

4. Capacity for swallowing; voracity.

There being nothing too gross for the swallow of political rancor. --Prof. Wilson.

5. As much as is, or can be, swallowed at once; as, a swallow of water.

6. That which ingulfs; a whirlpool. [Obs.] --Fabyan.

Language Translation for : swallow

Spanish: tragar, engullir,

German: schlucken,

Japanese: 飲み込む

More Translations »

swallow (v.)

"take in through the throat," O.E. swelgan (class III strong verb; past tense swealg, pp. swolgen), from P.Gmc. *swelkh-/*swelg- (cf. O.S. farswelgan, O.N. svelgja "to swallow," M.Du. swelghen, Du. zwelgen "to gulp, swallow," O.H.G. swelahan "to swallow," Ger. schwelgan "to revel"). Connections outside Gmc. uncertain. Sense of "consume, destroy" is attested from c.1340. Cognate with O.N. svelgr "whirlpool," lit. "devourer, swallower." Meaning "to accept without question" is from 1591. The noun meaning "an act of swallowing" is recorded from 1822.

swallow (n.)

"migratory bird" (family Hirundinidae), O.E. swealwe, from P.Gmc. *swalwon (cf. O.S., O.N., O.Fris., Swed. svala, Dan. svale, M.Du. zwalewe, Du. zwaluw, O.H.G. swalawa, Ger. Schwalbe), from PIE *swol-wi- (cf. Rus. solowej, Slovak slavik, Pol. slowik "nightinggale"). The etymological sense is disputed. Popularly regarded as a harbinger of summer; swallows building nests on or near a house is considered good luck. First record of swallow-tail is 1545, of a type of arrowhead; of a type of coat, 1835.

Main Entry: ¹swal·low
Pronunciation: 'swäl-(")O
Function: transitive verb
: to take through the mouth and esophagus into the stomachswallow intransitive senses
: to receive something into the body through the mouth and esophagus

Main Entry: ²swallow
Function: noun
1 : an act of swallowing
2 : an amount that can be swallowed at one time

swallow swal·low (swŏl'ō)
v. swal·lowed, swal·low·ing, swal·lows
To pass something, as food or drink, through the mouth and throat into the stomach.

Swallow

(1.) Heb. sis (Isa. 38:14; Jer. 8:7), the Arabic for the swift, which "is a regular migrant, returning in myriads every spring, and so suddenly that while one day not a swift can be seen in the country, on the next they have overspread the whole land, and fill the air with their shrill cry." The swift (cypselus) is ordinarily classed with the swallow, which it resembles in its flight, habits, and migration. (2.) Heb. deror, i.e., "the bird of freedom" (Ps. 84:3; Prov. 26:2), properly rendered swallow, distinguished for its swiftness of flight, its love of freedom, and the impossibility of retaining it in captivity. In Isa. 38:14 and Jer. 8:7 the word thus rendered ('augr) properly means "crane" (as in the R.V.).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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swallow

In addition to the idioms beginning with swallow, also see bitter pill to swallow.

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Facial Injection Injuries
Facial paralysis and palsy caused by MFR's off-label profiteering.

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