Illustration of swallow
- swallow 1
swal·low
ˈswä-(ˌ)lō 
1
: 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
swallowed; swallowing; swallows
1
: to take through the mouth and esophagus into the stomach
2
: to envelop or take in as if by swallowing : absorb
swallow the financial loss
watch night swallow the valley
3
: to accept without question, protest, or resentment
swallow an insult
a hard story to swallow
5
: to keep from expressing or showing : repress
swallowed my anger
6
: to utter (words) indistinctly
1
: to receive something into the body through the mouth and esophagus
2
: to perform the action characteristic of swallowing something especially under emotional stress
1
: the passage connecting the mouth to the stomach
2
: a capacity for swallowing
3
a
: an act of swallowing
b
: an amount that can be swallowed at one time
Synonyms
Examples of swallow in a Sentence
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
Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 25 Apr. 2024
Countrywide, people noticed swallows and swifts flocking as darkness fell.
—Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Apr. 2024
Birds that forage for insects during flight, such as swallows and purple martins, also leave the sky.
—Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY, 3 Mar. 2024
The 45-minute flight into Príncipe culminated in an alarming swallow dive down to a new runway that jutted into a jagged shore.
—Catherine Fairweather, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Mar. 2024
The tiny slug is a blue glaucus, but it's also known as a sea swallow, blue angel and, of course, blue dragon.
—Julia Gomez, USA TODAY, 11 Mar. 2024
Northern rough-winged swallow Journeying from its winter grounds in Mexico and Central America, the northern rough-winged swallow started arriving in San Diego in February, Handa said, and is one of Southern California’s earliest spring migratory birds.
—Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Feb. 2024
Five bank swallows were tallied at Rumney Marsh in Revere, and a pectoral sandpiper was observed at Belle Isle in East Boston.
—BostonGlobe.com, 12 Aug. 2023
Two Northern rough-winged swallows at the Longmeadow Flats area in Longmeadow.
—Isabela Rocha, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Apr. 2023
Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2024
The museum also had a sinkhole swallow eight cars around 10 years ago, the last of which was pulled in March of 2014, as previously reported by The Courier Journal.
—Marina Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 9 May 2024
Other symptoms can include loss of motor skills — problems walking, swallowing or muscle spasms.
—Vanessa Etienne, Peoplemag, 7 May 2024
The child’s mother told authorities her son had a swallowing problem and history of regurgitating from the nose while feeding.
—Ashley Luthern, Journal Sentinel, 6 May 2024
In a lot of ways, Angie does know better than Tessa, which is a tough pill for Tessa to swallow.
—Michael Schaub, Orange County Register, 3 May 2024
Such formidable carnivores tore their prey into chunks and swallowed the parts without chewing.
—Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 May 2024
Now Microsoft is swallowing most of its staff, including Mr. Suleyman and Dr. Simonyan.
—Tripp Mickle, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2024
Jenny Erpenbeck became a writer when her childhood and her country, the German Democratic Republic, disappeared, swallowed by the materialist West.
—Steven Erlanger, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2024
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
Birds that forage for insects during flight, such as swallows and purple martins, also leave the sky.
—Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY, 3 Mar. 2024
The 45-minute flight into Príncipe culminated in an alarming swallow dive down to a new runway that jutted into a jagged shore.
—Catherine Fairweather, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Mar. 2024
The tiny slug is a blue glaucus, but it's also known as a sea swallow, blue angel and, of course, blue dragon.
—Julia Gomez, USA TODAY, 11 Mar. 2024
Northern rough-winged swallow Journeying from its winter grounds in Mexico and Central America, the northern rough-winged swallow started arriving in San Diego in February, Handa said, and is one of Southern California’s earliest spring migratory birds.
—Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Feb. 2024
Five bank swallows were tallied at Rumney Marsh in Revere, and a pectoral sandpiper was observed at Belle Isle in East Boston.
—BostonGlobe.com, 12 Aug. 2023
Two Northern rough-winged swallows at the Longmeadow Flats area in Longmeadow.
—Isabela Rocha, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Apr. 2023
Verb
Boats had more room to park and the bridge supports had been swallowed up by water.
—Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2024
The museum also had a sinkhole swallow eight cars around 10 years ago, the last of which was pulled in March of 2014, as previously reported by The Courier Journal.
—Marina Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 9 May 2024
Other symptoms can include loss of motor skills — problems walking, swallowing or muscle spasms.
—Vanessa Etienne, Peoplemag, 7 May 2024
The child’s mother told authorities her son had a swallowing problem and history of regurgitating from the nose while feeding.
—Ashley Luthern, Journal Sentinel, 6 May 2024
In a lot of ways, Angie does know better than Tessa, which is a tough pill for Tessa to swallow.
—Michael Schaub, Orange County Register, 3 May 2024
Such formidable carnivores tore their prey into chunks and swallowed the parts without chewing.
—Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 May 2024
Now Microsoft is swallowing most of its staff, including Mr. Suleyman and Dr. Simonyan.
—Tripp Mickle, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2024
Jenny Erpenbeck became a writer when her childhood and her country, the German Democratic Republic, disappeared, swallowed by the materialist West.
—Steven Erlanger, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2024
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.
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Cite this Entry
“Swallow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/swallow. Accessed 15 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
swallow
1 of 3 noun
swal·low
ˈswäl-ō
1
: any of a family of small birds that have long pointed wings and usually a deeply forked tail and that feed on insects caught while in flight
2
: any of several birds that look like true swallows
swallow
2 of 3 verb1
a
: to take into the stomach through the mouth and throat
b
: to perform the actions used in swallowing something
clear your throat and swallow before answering
2
: to take in as if by swallowing : engulf
3
: to accept or believe without question, protest, or anger
a hard story to swallow
4
: to keep from expressing or showing : repress
swallowed my anger
swallow
3 of 3 noun1
: an act of swallowing
2
: an amount that can be swallowed at one time
Etymology
Noun
Old English swealwe "the swallow"
Verb
Old English swelgan "to swallow"
Medical Definition
swallow
1 of 2 transitive verb
swal·low
ˈswäl-(ˌ)ō
: to take through the mouth and esophagus into the stomach
: to receive something into the body through the mouth and esophagus
swallow
2 of 2 noun1
: an act of swallowing
2
: an amount that can be swallowed at one time
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