swallow
swallow
verb (swallows, swallowed, swallowed, swallowing)
/ˈswɒləʊ/
food/drink
1 transitive, intransitive to make food, drink, etc. go down your throat into your stomach
swallow (something) Always chew food well before swallowing it.
I had a sore throat and it hurt to swallow.
swallow something + adj. The pills should be swallowed whole.
Collocations
adverb
hastily
quickly
accidentally
phrases
swallow something whole
move throat muscles
2 intransitive to move the muscles of your throat as if you were swallowing something, especially because you are nervous
She swallowed hard and told him the bad news.
Collocations
adverb
deeply
hard
convulsively
phrases
have difficulty swallowing
have trouble swallowing
completely cover
3 ​transitive, often passive to take somebody/something in or completely cover them/it so that they/it cannot be seen or exist separately any longer
swallow somebody/something I watched her walk down the road until she was swallowed by the darkness.
swallow somebody/something up Large areas of countryside have been swallowed up by towns.
use up money
4 ​transitive swallow somebody/something (up) to use up something completely, especially an amount of money
Most of my salary gets swallowed (up) by the rent and bills.
believe
5 ​transitive to accept that something is true; to believe something
swallow something I found her excuse very hard to swallow.
swallow something + adj. He told her a pack of lies, but she swallowed it whole.
feelings
6 ​transitive swallow something to hide your feelings
to swallow your doubts
You're going to have to swallow your pride and ask for your job back.
accept insults
7 ​transitive swallow something to accept offensive remarks, criticisms, etc. without complaining or protesting
I was surprised that he just sat there and swallowed all their remarks.
Idioms
a bitter pill
like the cat that got/ate/swallowed the canary
swallow
noun
/ˈswɒləʊ/
bird
1 ​a small bird, with long pointed wings and a tail with two points, that migrates (= moves from one part of the world to another according to the season)
TOPICS Birds C2
of food/drink
2 ​an act of swallowing; an amount of food or drink that is swallowed at one time
She took a swallow of coffee.
Idioms
one swallow doesn’t make a summer
Word Origin
verb Old English swelgan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zwelgen and German schwelgen.
noun sense 1 Old English swealwe, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zwaluw and German Schwalbe. noun sense 2 Old English swelgan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zwelgen and German schwelgen.