swallow

transitive-verb
UK: /ˈswɒləʊ/
US: /ˈswɑːloʊ/

  1. To cause food, drink, pills, etc. to pass from your mouth into your stomach.

    1. I swallow the pill with water. [ ] [ ]
    2. You must swallow your pride and apologize to her for what you said. [ ] [ ]

  2. To accept something unpleasant without protest.

    1. I had to swallow my disappointment. [ ] [ ]
    2. She swallowed her anger and decided to remain silent during the meeting. [ ] [ ]

  3. To use up or take away a large part of something.

    1. The project will swallow a lot of money. [ ] [ ]
    2. The war swallowed the country's resources, leaving little for development. [ ] [ ]

Synonyms

ingest accept bird tolerate consume endure
swallow intransitive-verb

  1. To cause food, drink, etc. to go down your throat.

    1. It's hard to swallow with a sore throat. [ ] [ ]
    2. He tried to swallow, but his mouth was too dry from the anxiety. [ ] [ ]

  2. To move your throat as if swallowing, often because you are nervous or frightened.

    1. He swallowed hard before speaking. [ ] [ ]
    2. She swallowed nervously as she waited to hear the examination results. [ ] [ ]
swallow noun

  1. A small bird with long pointed wings and a forked tail that flies quickly and catches insects in the air.

    1. A swallow flew into the barn. [ ] [ ]
    2. The swallow builds its nest under the eaves of the roof every spring. [ ] [ ]
swallow noun

  1. The act of causing food, liquid, etc. to pass from the mouth to the stomach.

    1. Take a swallow of water. [ ] [ ]
    2. He took a large swallow of beer, trying to calm his nerves before his speech. [ ] [ ]
swallow noun

  1. An amount that is swallowed at one time.

    1. I took a swallow of my coffee. [ ] [ ]
    2. She only managed a few swallows of soup before she felt full and put her spoon down. [ ] [ ]

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "swallow" in English means: To cause food, drink, pills, etc. to pass from your mouth into your stomach., To accept something unpleasant without protest., To use up or take away a large part of something..

The phonetic transcription of "swallow" is /ˈswɒləʊ/ in British English and /ˈswɑːloʊ/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "swallow": ingest, accept, bird, tolerate, consume, endure.

Example usage of "swallow": "I swallow the pill with water.". More examples on the page.