swal·low 1 (sw l )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.
[Middle English swalowen, from Old English swelgan; see swel- in Indo-European roots.]
swal low·er n. |
swal·low 2 (sw l )n.1. 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. 2. Any of various similar birds, such as a swift.
[Middle English swalowe, from Old English swealwe.] |
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