Swallower

swal·low ¹  (swl)

v. swal·lowed, swal·low·ing, swal·lows

v.tr.

1. To cause (food or drink, for example) to pass through the mouth and throat into the stomach.

2. To put up with (something unpleasant): swallowed the insults and kept on working.

3. To refrain from expressing; suppress: swallow one's feelings.

4. To consume or destroy as if by ingestion; devour: a building that was swallowed up by fire.

5. Slang To believe without question: swallowed the alibi.

6. To take back; retract: swallow one's words.

7. To say inarticulately; mumble: The actor swallowed his lines.

v.intr.

To perform the act of swallowing.

n.

1. The act of swallowing.

2. An amount swallowed.

3. Nautical The channel through which a rope runs in a block or a mooring chock.

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[Middle English swalowen, from Old English swelgan; see swel- in Indo-European roots.]

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swallow·er n.