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swallow1 definition

swal·low (swä′lō)

noun

  1. any of a family (Hirundinidae) of small, swift-flying, insect-eating passerine birds with long, pointed wings and a forked tail, including the barn swallow and purple martin: most species migrate, often between widely separated summer and winter homes
  2. any of various birds resembling swallows, as certain swifts

Etymology: ME swalwe < OE swealwe, akin to Ger schwalbe, ON svala, swallow, & prob. Russ solovyej, Czech slavík, nightingale

swallow2 definition

swal·low (swä′lō)

transitive verb

  1. to pass (food, drink, etc.) from the mouth through the gullet or esophagus into the stomach, usually by a series of muscular actions in the throat
  2. to take in; absorb; engulf; envelop: often with up
  3. to take back (words said); retract; withdraw
  4. to put up with; tolerate; bear humbly to swallow an insult
  5. to refrain from expressing; hold back; suppress to swallow one's pride
  6. to utter (words) indistinctly
  7. Informal to accept as true without question; receive gullibly

Etymology: ME swolwen < OE swelgan, akin to Ger schwelgen < IE base *swel-, to devour > swill

intransitive verb

to move the muscles of the throat as in swallowing something; specif., to do so under stress of emotion

noun

  1. the act of swallowing
  2. the amount swallowed at one time
  3. Now Chiefly Brit. the throat or gullet
  4. Naut. the opening in a block or pulley through which the rope runs

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms swallow idiom

medical swallow definition - medical

swallow Synonyms

swallow

n.

Swallows include: bank, cliff, barn, tree, eave, rough-winged; purple martin;


swallow

v.

consume, engulf, gulp, take, wash down, pour, swill, bolt, take in one draught, swig, choke down, ingurgitate, imbibe, swallow up, toss off*; see also drink 1, eat 1.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

swallow Usage Examples

Object

  • mouthful: I spent the whole day without eating anything; I could not swallow a mouthful.

Subject

  • whale: The teacher told the class that Jonah couldn't possibly be swallowed by a whale because a whale's throat is too small.

Modifies a noun

  • hole: FIG 2 Ruislip Lido Jan 1993, showing the site of the 1991 swallow hole.

Adjective complement

  • reflex: For a patient of this age and comorbidity with obtunded swallowing reflex the use of combined sedation with oropharyngeal LA was probably contraindicated.

Modifying Another Word

  • accidentally: Their problems seemed to begin when their daughter, Iris, accidentally swallowed an Ecstasy tablet while attending a birthday party with her mother.

Noun used with modifier

  • barn: Barn swallows ( Hirundo rustica ) were hunted by a Sparrow hawk ( Accipiter nisus ).

Used with why or when

  • which: The perfect glass of Hooky beer should be much more than a swift swallow which is soon forgotten.

Followed by an intransitive particle

  • up: The Kitchen Bar however will suffer the ultimate insult, swallowed up to reappear in the bowels of the Victoria Square.

Preposition: by

  • whale: The teacher told the class that Jonah couldn't possibly be swallowed by a whale because a whale's throat is too small.
swallow usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

swallow quotes

Human good turns out to be activity of soul exhibiting excellence, and if there is more than one sort of excellence, in accordance with the best and most complete.Foroneswallowdoesnot makea summer, nor does one day; and so too one day, or a short time, does not make a man blessed and happy.

-Aristotle

How amiable are thy tabernacles,O L of hosts! 96 My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the L: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. Yea, thesparrow hath found anhouse, and theswallowa nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars,O L of hosts, my King, and my God.

-Bible (Old Testament)

He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord Gwill wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the L hath spoken it.

-Bible (Old Testament)

swallow quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"swallow." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/swallow>

APA Style

swallow. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/swallow

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