swig

\ ˈswig

How to pronounce swig (audio)

\

Definition of swig

(Entry 1 of 2)

: a quantity drunk at one time

swig

swigged; swigging

Definition of swig (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

: to drink in long drafts swig cider

intransitive verb

: to take a swig : drink

Other Words from swig Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about swig

Keep scrolling for more

Examples of swig in a Sentence

Noun can I have just a swig of your lemonade to wash down these french fries? Verb the only way he can stay awake at his night job is by constantly swigging drinks containing caffeine

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun When Kelsey goes to take a swig from the bottle, champagne literally explodes in her face. — Ineye Komonibo, refinery29.com, "Bachelor Nation Can’t Stop Laughing At This Contestant’s Champagne Crisis," 14 Jan. 2020 This dinner is an elaboration on the Auvergnat concept of the veillée, a friendly gathering where peasants used to crack walnuts, husk maize, and warm the cockles with a few swigs of eau de vie, which Stéphane sets on the table after dessert. — Stephen Heyman, Condé Nast Traveler, "A Road Trip Through Auvergne’s Natural Wineries and Charming Bistros," 11 Nov. 2019 John would then just take another swig from his can of Coke and flash a big smile. — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Elton John's first Milwaukee concert: 'A powerful undertow of excitement'," 17 Oct. 2019 Shalhoub's co-star Alex Borstein then won the best supporting comedy actress award, taking a swig from a tiny liquor bottle before taking the stage. — Lynn Elber, Fortune, "Live Updates: The 2019 Emmy Awards Are Underway," 22 Sep. 2019 Canseco even took a swig of beer from Jenner’s shoe at one point during the night, prior to a public makeout session. — Rachel Desantis, PEOPLE.com, "Brody Jenner Kisses Josie Canseco at His 36th Birthday Party in Atlantic City," 25 Aug. 2019 Robles selected a bottle of Jack Daniels, and Atkins took a swig. — Cindy Chang, Los Angeles Times, "Trader Joe’s suspect in 2018 shootout will stand trial for murder of store manager," 3 Sep. 2019 Armstead takes a big swig from a gallon jug of water, his face framed by a patchy goatee and gauge earrings. — San Francisco Chronicle, "Rashad Armstead fills a bag of French fries at his restaurant, Grammie's Down-Home Chicken, in Oakland.," 30 Aug. 2019 That’s when Mayfield took a swig of a beer in his hand before his buddy tossed him another brew. — Tom Withers, SFChronicle.com, "Beer chaser: Baker Mayfield endorses sports drink after brew chug," 8 Aug. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Witness Marianne, crouched in the lee of a rock beside the ocean, roughing out a secret sketch of her subject, like a drinker swigging in shame. — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, "The Fanciful Flamboyance of “The Aeronauts”," 29 Nov. 2019 Feeling nauseous might just be your unsettled stomach telling you to swig more H20. — Marygrace Taylor, SELF, "6 Surprising Reasons Why You're Feeling Nauseous," 24 Dec. 2019 Clusters of French and Spanish teenagers wander over canal bridges, swigging wine bought from convenience stores, while Australian backpackers in coffee shops sample the legal weed. — Ciara Nugent/amsterdam, Time, "Amsterdam's Red Light District Is in Crisis. Can the City's First Female Mayor Remake It for the 21st Century?," 30 Oct. 2019 Plenty of people on the sidewalks swigged alcohol, smoked drugs and huddled under ratty blankets and sleeping bags. — Heather Knight, SFChronicle.com, "Toughest job in SF? Tenderloin garbagemen work late at night to clean filthiest streets," 7 Dec. 2019 Jenner and Richie were also caught on camera swigging tequila from the bottle, and washing it down with a Red Bull chaser. — Amy Mackelden, Harper's BAZAAR, "Kylie Jenner Wore a Leather Dress with a Thigh-High Leg Slit for Halloween Weekend," 27 Oct. 2019 Later watercolors, decades beyond the din of war, capture black subjects as romanticized primitives amid the burgeoning growth of the Caribbean tourist industry — coral diving here, swigging from a coconut there. — BostonGlobe.com, "CAMBRIDGE — “Winslow Homer: Eyewitness” begins with a gamut of the young artist’s fast-and-furious Civil War drawings, which were the visual meat of Harper’s Weekly’s reportage from the era. But really, that’s just curator Ethan Lasser clearing his throat.," 4 Oct. 2019 Rasmussen is a tough, beer-swigging, intimidating detective—a great foil to Duvall’s earnest, devout Christian. — Mahita Gajanan, Time, "The True Story Behind the Netflix Series Unbelievable," 12 Sep. 2019 The charges also alleged in late 1996 that Pell had orally raped the same choirboy and indecently dealt with the boy and his friend in a rear room of the cathedral after catching them swigging altar wine. — Washington Post, "Australian court upholds Cardinal Pell child sex convictions," 21 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'swig.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about swig

Dictionary Entries near swig

Statistics for swig

Last Updated

20 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Swig.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/swig. Accessed 25 January 2020.

Keep scrolling for more

Keep scrolling for more

WORD OF THE DAY

lackluster

dull or mediocre

Test Your Vocabulary

Intact Latin Quiz

What did focus mean in Latin?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.