: any of numerous small widely distributed oscine birds (family Hirundinidae, the swallow family) that have a short bill, long pointed wings, and often a deeply forked tail and that feed on insects caught on the wing
2
: any of several birds that superficially resemble swallows
Verb
He swallowed the grape whole.
Chew your food well before you swallow.
The boss said, “Come in.” I swallowed hard and walked in.
Her story is pretty hard to swallow.
I can usually take criticism, but this is more than I can swallow. Noun (2)
drank the cool refreshing water in two swallows and held out her cup for more
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
This involved inserting a fiber-optic camera attached to the end of a flexible tube, or endoscope, through my nose and into my throat to observe whether the swallow reflex was functioning properly, safely channeling food and water away from the vocal cords.—Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 25 Apr. 2024 Countrywide, people noticed swallows and swifts flocking as darkness fell.—Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Apr. 2024
Verb
Five people died and part of a city was obliterated in Iowa on Tuesday after the southwestern part of the state was swallowed by a system that produced a powerful tornado that carved a 43-mile path and packed winds of at least 185 miles per hour.—Johnny Diaz, New York Times, 26 May 2024 This maximum is due to the amount of torque on the black hole generated by radiation emitted from the accretion disk and swallowed by the black hole.—Isaac Schultz / Gizmodo, Quartz, 23 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for swallow
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'swallow.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun (1)
Middle English swalowe, from Old English swealwe; akin to Old High German swalawa swallow
Verb
Middle English swalowen, from Old English swelgan; akin to Old High German swelgan to swallow
First Known Use
Noun (1)
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
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