SWALLOW

swallow, drink, deglutition

(noun) the act of swallowing; “one swallow of the liquid was enough”; “he took a drink of his beer and smacked his lips”

swallow

(noun) small long-winged songbird noted for swift graceful flight and the regularity of its migrations

swallow, sup

(noun) a small amount of liquid food; “a sup of ale”

swallow

(verb) believe or accept without questioning or challenge; “Am I supposed to swallow that story?”

accept, live with, swallow

(verb) tolerate or accommodate oneself to; “I shall have to accept these unpleasant working conditions”; “I swallowed the insult”; “She has learned to live with her husband’s little idiosyncrasies”

swallow

(verb) keep from expressing; “I swallowed my anger and kept quiet”

swallow, take back, unsay, withdraw

(verb) take back what one has said; “He swallowed his words”

swallow

(verb) utter indistinctly; “She swallowed the last words of her speech”

swallow

(verb) engulf and destroy; “The Nazis swallowed the Baltic countries”

swallow, get down

(verb) pass through the esophagus as part of eating or drinking; “Swallow the raw fish--it won’t kill you!”

immerse, swallow, swallow up, bury, eat up

(verb) enclose or envelop completely, as if by swallowing; “The huge waves swallowed the small boat and it sank shortly thereafter”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology 1

Verb

swallow (third-person singular simple present swallows, present participle swallowing, simple past and past participle swallowed)

(transitive) To cause (food, drink etc.) to pass from the mouth into the stomach; to take into the stomach through the throat. [from 11th c.]

(transitive) To take (something) in so that it disappears; to consume, absorb. [from 13th c.]

(intransitive) To take food down into the stomach; to make the muscular contractions of the oesophagus to achieve this, often taken as a sign of nervousness or strong emotion. [from 18th c.]

(transitive) To accept easily or without questions; to believe, accept. [from 16th c.]

(intransitive) To engross; to appropriate; usually with up.

(transitive) To retract; to recant.

(transitive) To put up with; to bear patiently or without retaliation.

Synonyms

• (to cause to pass from the mouth into the stomach): consume, devour, eat, gulp

• (to take in): absorb, assimilate, engulf, incorporate, swallow up, overwhelm; see also integrate

• (to make muscular contractions of the oesophagus): gulp

• (to believe or accept): buy, creed, credit

• (to engross): absorb, engage, immerse,monopolize, take over, occupy

• (to retract): disavow, take back, unsay; See also recant

• (to put up with): brook, endure, live with; See also tolerate

Noun

swallow (countable and uncountable, plural swallows)

(archaic) A deep chasm or abyss in the earth.

The amount swallowed in one gulp; the act of swallowing.

(Nigeria) Any of various carbohydrate-based dishes that are swallowed without much chewing.

Etymology 2

Noun

swallow (plural swallows)

A small, migratory bird of the Hirundinidae family with long, pointed, moon-shaped wings and a forked tail which feeds on the wing by catching insects.

(nautical) The aperture in a block through which the rope reeves.

Synonyms

• (bird of Hirundinidae): martin

Anagrams

• wallows

Proper noun

Swallow (plural Swallows)

A surname.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Swallow is the 11003rd most common surname in the United States, belonging to 2891 individuals. Swallow is most common among White (88.97%) individuals.

Anagrams

• wallows

Source: Wiktionary


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

1. (Zoöl.)

Definition: Any one of numerous species of passerine birds of the family Hirundinidæ, 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. (Zoöl.)

Definition: 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.)

Definition: The aperture in a block through which the rope reeves. Ham. Nav. Encyc. Swallow plover (Zoöl.), any one of several species of fork-tailed ploverlike birds of the genus Glareola, as G. orientalis of India; a pratincole.

– Swallow shrike (Zoöl.), any one of several species of East Indian and Asiatic birds of the family Artamiidæ, allied to the shrikes but similar to swallows in appearance and habits. The ashy swallow shrike (Artamus fuscus) is common in India.

– Swallow warbler (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of East Indian and Australian singing birds of the genus Dicæum. They are allied to the honeysuckers.

Swal"low, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Swallowed; p. pr. & vb. n. Swallowing.] Etym: [OE. swolewen, swolwen, swolhen, AS. swelgan; akin to D. zwelgen, OHG. swelahan, swelgan, G. schwelgen to feast, to revel, Icel. svelgia to swallow, SW. svälja, Dan. svælge. 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.

Swal"low, v. i.

Definition: To perform the act of swallowing; as, his cold is so severe he is unable to 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.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

21 May 2024

FUDGE

(verb) tamper, with the purpose of deception; “Fudge the figures”; “cook the books”; “falsify the data”


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