swallow 
swal·low (swä′lō)
noun
- 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
- 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
swal·low (swä′lō)
transitive verb
- 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
- to take in; absorb; engulf; envelop: often with up
- to take back (words said); retract; withdraw
- to put up with; tolerate; bear humbly to swallow an insult
- to refrain from expressing; hold back; suppress to swallow one's pride
- to utter (words) indistinctly
- 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
- the act of swallowing
- the amount swallowed at one time
- Now Chiefly Brit. the throat or gullet
- Naut. the opening in a block or pulley through which the rope runs
swallow
n.
Swallows include: bank, cliff, barn, tree, eave, rough-winged; purple martin;
swallow
v.
Object
- mouthful: I spent the whole day without eating anything; I could not swallow a mouthful.
- capsule: Swallow the capsules whole with a glass of water on an empty stomach.
- camel: You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
- pill: Would Serbia ever swallow the bitter pill of independence for Kosovo without the prospect of EU membership for itself?
- saliva: Cough as quietly as possible To stop a coughing fit swallow saliva and keep swallowing until you inhibit the cough.
- tablet: You should swallow the tablets whole with a drink of water.
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.
- fish: One ancient story that sheds light on the dark night is the tale of the hero swallowed by a huge fish.
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.
- whole: They should be swallowed whole with plenty of water.
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.
- nervously: Chapter Three Rukia adjusted the fold of her sash, swallowed nervously, and knocked on the door.
- safely: They will assess you, and can advise on the right texture of food or fluid to help you swallow safely.
- hard: He swallowed hard to see Jesus with these others.
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
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.
Swallow, my sister,O sister swallow, How can thine heart be full of the spring? A thousand summers are over and dead. What hast thou found in the spring to follow? What hast thou found in thine heart to sing? What wilt thou do when the summer is shed?
O tell her, Swallow that thy brood is flown: Say to her, I do but wanton in the South, But in the North long since my nest is made.
O Swallow, Swallow, flying, flying South, Fly to her, and fall upon her gilded eaves, And tell her, tell her, what I tell to thee. O tell her, Swallow, thou that knowest each, That bright and fierce and fickle is the South, And dark and true and tender is the North.
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.
Beneath those rugged elms, that yew-tree's shade, Where heaves the turf in many a mouldering heap, Each in his narrow cell for ever laid, The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep. The breezy call of incense-breathing Morn, The swallow twitt'ring from the straw-built shed, The cock's shrill clarion, or the echoing horn, No more shall rouse them from their lowly bed.
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.
Browse dictionary entries near swallow
- ‹ swale
- ‹ SWAK
- ‹ swain
- ‹ Swahili
- ‹ swagman
- ‹ swagger stick
- ‹ swagger
- ‹ swage block
- ‹ swage
- ‹ swag
- swallow dive ›
- swallow-tailed ›
- swallow-tailed coat ›
- swallowtail ›
- swallowwort ›
- swam ›
- swami ›
- swamp ›
- swamp buggy ›
- swamp fever ›
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