1
as in gorging
to eat greedily or to excess
they can spend hours at the pub, drinking, chatting, and swilling
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sipping
to swallow in liquid form
they gathered in the break room each morning to swill coffee together before the morning meeting
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of swilling
Editors and influencers piled into the train-carriage narrow Ojii restaurant on the Left Bank, swilling lychee martinis and Champagne before settling in for rounds of wagyu beef, tuna tartare, tempura and — of course — sushi.
—
Miles Socha, Footwear News, 18 Nov. 2025
Fighting off hordes of alien monstrosities AND digging for rare minerals in outer space as a crew of beer-swilling, ass kicking space dwarves?
—Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 6 Oct. 2025
Dale Soules gives a hilarious, scene-stealing performance as the beer-swilling mom.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Sep. 2025
Miles Socha, Footwear News, 18 Nov. 2025
Fighting off hordes of alien monstrosities AND digging for rare minerals in outer space as a crew of beer-swilling, ass kicking space dwarves?
—Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 6 Oct. 2025
Dale Soules gives a hilarious, scene-stealing performance as the beer-swilling mom.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swilling
Verb
-
Of all the schemes that humans have devised to keep sea lions from gorging on the salmon of the Columbia River basin, none has worked for long.—
Katherine J. Wu,
The Atlantic,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Our collective efforts were failing as residents battled billionaires and the politicians gorging on them.—
Josh Peter,
USA Today,
20 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
In the end, the town promises a simpler life, sipping strong espressos beneath fluttering palm trees.—
Dana Sauchelli,
Travel + Leisure,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Meanwhile, days are spent sipping ceremonial matcha in the open-air tea house, strolling beneath clouds of cherry blossoms each spring, or pausing before the towering bronze Buddha.—
Lewis Nunn,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Consider the vivid hypocrisy of the ICE agents who were seen feasting at the popular El Tapatio Mexican Restaurant in Willmar, Minnesota, and then returning later to arrest the owner and employees of this café that had graciously served them.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Fortune,
21 Jan. 2026
-
Trump wants to add a second story to the White House, feasting on its transformation from hallowed hall to cut-rate wedding cake.—
Pat Beall,
Sun Sentinel,
16 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The song’s promotional image, shot by Stella Blackmon, shows the singer seated on a hotel bed, drinking one of American convenience store 7-Eleven’s greatest hits, the Big Gulp.—
Margaux Anbouba,
Vogue,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Both men were in the bar hours earlier drinking and watching the Kansas City Chiefs narrowly beat the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2023 Super Bowl.—
David Goodhue,
Miami Herald,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Protostars are messy and dynamic, gulping down material in spurts and fits and ejecting powerful outflows of wind and jets that punch into the surrounding clouds.—
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry,
Space.com,
16 Jan. 2026
-
The cayenne pepper lingers on the tongue for a full minute after gulping the shot down.—
April Benshosan,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
5 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Swilling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swilling. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
