Swallow
WordNet
noun
(1) The act of swallowing
"One swallow of the liquid was enough"
"He took a drink of his beer and smacked his lips"
(2) Small long-winged songbird noted for swift graceful flight and the regularity of its migrations
(3) A small amount of liquid food
"A sup of ale"
verb
(4) Believe or accept without questioning or challenge
"Am I supposed to swallow that story?"
(5) 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"
(6) Keep from expressing
"I swallowed my anger and kept quiet"
(7) Take back what one has said
"He swallowed his words"
(8) Utter indistinctly
"She swallowed the last words of her speech"
(9) Engulf and destroy
"The Nazis swallowed the Baltic countries"
(10) Pass through the esophagus as part of eating or drinking
"Swallow the raw fish--it won't kill you!"
(11) Enclose or envelop completely, as if by swallowing
"The huge waves swallowed the small boat and it sank shortly thereafter"
WiktionaryText
Etymology 1
, from Germanic. Cognate with Dutch , German , Swedish .
Verb
- To cause to pass from the mouth into the stomach.
- Try not to swallow too much toothpaste.
- The duck swallowed the frog.
- To take food down into the stomach; to make the muscular contractions of the oesophagus to achieve this.
- I swallowed nervously, wondering who was outside the window.
- To take in, to consume, to absorb or cause to disappear.
- Any extra money will be swallowed up by the mortgage repayments.
- To believe or accept.
- I find his excuses a little hard to swallow.
Etymology 2
Late , from Germanic (related to Etymology 1, above).
Noun
- A deep chasm or abyss in the earth.
- The amount swallowed in one gulp; the act of swallowing.
- He took the aspirin with a single swallow of water.
Etymology 3
, from Germanic. Cognate with Danish , Dutch , German , Swedish .