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swallow

 - 12 dictionary results

swal⋅low

1  [swol-oh]
Use swallow in a Sentence
–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.
Cite This Source Link To swallow
swal·low 1   (swŏl'ō)   
v.   swal·lowed, swal·low·ing, swal·lows

v.   tr.

  1. To cause (food or drink, for example) to pass through the mouth and throat into the stomach.

  2. To put up with (something unpleasant): swallowed the insults and kept on working.

  3. To refrain from expressing; suppress: swallow one's feelings.

  4. To consume or destroy as if by ingestion; devour: a building that was swallowed up by fire.

  5. Slang To believe without question: swallowed the alibi.

  6. To take back; retract: swallow one's words.

  7. To say inarticulately; mumble: The actor swallowed his lines.

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

  1. The act of swallowing.

  2. An amount swallowed.

  3. 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·low 2   (swŏl'ō)   
n.  

  1. 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.

  2. 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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Slang Dictionary
swallow

  1. n.
    a puff of cigarette smoke. : He took just one swallow and started coughing.
  2. tv.
    to believe or accept something. (See also eat (sth) up.) : Nobody's gonna swallow that nonsense.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

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
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

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.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Bible Dictionary

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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Idioms & Phrases

swallow

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

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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