swill

[ swil ]
See synonyms for swill on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. liquid or partly liquid food for animals, especially kitchen refuse given to swine; hogwash.

  2. kitchen refuse in general; garbage.

  1. any liquid mess, waste, or refuse; slop.

  2. a deep draught of liquor.

  3. contemptibly worthless utterance or writing; drivel.

verb (used without object)
  1. to drink greedily or excessively.

verb (used with object)
  1. to drink (something) greedily or to excess; guzzle.

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

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

Origin of swill

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English verb swilen “to wash, swirl,”Old English swilian, swillan

Other words from swill

  • swiller, noun
  • un·swilled, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use swill in a sentence

  • The farmer is a beer swiller, and sleeps heavily, and his women folks all sleep up in the garret.

    Cruel As The Grave | Mrs. Emma D. E. N. Southworth
  • "If he is called Swiller Deck, he must drink a good deal," said the sergeant, with a laugh.

    Fighting in Cuban Waters | Edward Stratemeyer
  • Therefore we say it is a lie, and Khaled is a true man, and a Sonna like ourselves, not a swiller of wine nor a devourer of pigs.

    Khaled, A Tale of Arabia | F. Marion Crawford

British Dictionary definitions for swill

swill

/ (swɪl) /


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

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

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

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

  2. garbage or refuse, esp from a kitchen

  1. a deep draught of drink, esp beer

  2. any liquid mess

  3. the act of swilling

Origin of swill

1
Old English swilian to wash out

Derived forms of swill

  • swiller, noun

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