swal·low
1 (swŏĺō)
[Middle English swalowen, from Old English swelgan.]
verb: -lowed, -low·ing, -lows.
transitive verb
- To cause (food or drink, for example) to pass through the mouth and throat into the stomach.
- To put up with (something unpleasant): swallowed the insults and kept on working.
- To refrain from expressing; suppress: swallow one's feelings.
- To consume or destroy as if by ingestion; devour: a building that was swallowed up by fire.
- Slang To believe without question: swallowed the alibi.
- To take back; retract: swallow one's words.
- To say inarticulately; mumble: The actor swallowed his lines.
intransitive verb
- To perform the act of swallowing.
noun
- The act of swallowing.
- An amount swallowed.
- Nautical The channel through which a rope runs in a block or a mooring chock.
derivatives
- swaĺlow·er
- noun
swal·low
2 (swŏĺō)
[Middle English swalowe, from Old English swealwe.]
noun
- Any of various small graceful swift-flying passerine birds of the family Hirundinidae, having long pointed wings, a usually notched or forked tail, and a large mouth for catching flying insects and noted for their regular migrations in large numbers, often over long distances.
- Any of various similar birds, such as a swift.
