swallow

verb

1. (transitive)To cause (food, drink etc.) to pass from the mouth into the stomach; to take into the stomach through the throat.

   “What the liquor was I do not know, but it was not so strong but that I could swallow it in great gulps and found it less burning than my burning throat.”

   “Clothes are to be worn and food is to be swallowed: they remain trapped in the physical world.”

   “The four-and-one-half-day trial was centered on acts that neither she nor prosecutors dispute: On July 13, 2012, she drove her Lexus S.U.V. erratically after swallowing Zolpidem, a generic form of the sleep medication Ambien.”

2. (transitive)To take (something) in so that it disappears; to consume, absorb.

   “The necessary provision of the life swallows the greatest part of their time.”

   “His body, like so many others swallowed by the ocean's hungry maw, was never found.”

   “Elsewhere still, they'd managed to find the wreck of a Japanese midget submarine, and so, when the battleships were done being swallowed by the seabed, some efforts were being made to haul this up as well.”

3. (intransitive)To take food down into the stomach; to make the muscular contractions of the oesophagus to achieve this, often taken as a sign of nervousness or strong emotion.

   “My throat was so sore that I was unable to swallow.”

   “She swallowed nervously then, appearing near sick with what she had to say.”

4. (transitive)To accept easily or without questions; to believe, accept.

   “this humbug was readily swallowed by men who were supposed to be intelligent,”

   “Most newspapers we saw swallowed whole an S.R. estimate that it would cost £20m to equip the Region with point heaters.”

   “Be careful of the Commie Lies / swallow them and freedom dies / The USA must realize / that she's the biggest prize.”

   “Americans swallowed his tale because they wanted to.”

5. (intransitive)To engross; to appropriate; usually with up.

   “Homer excels […] in this, that he swallowed up the honour of those who succeeded him.”

6. (transitive)To retract; to recant.

   “to swallow one's opinions”

   “Left her in her tears, and dried not one of them with his comfort; swallowed his vows whole”

7. (transitive)To put up with; to bear patiently or without retaliation.

   “to swallow an affront or insult”

8. (slang)To fellate; perform oral sex.

noun

1. (archaic, countable, uncountable)A deep chasm or abyss in the earth.
2. (archaic, countable, uncountable)The mouth and throat; that which is used for swallowing; the gullet.

   “The door burst wide open, and he saw nothing but a gaping jaw extending from the threshold up to the lintel. "There is a mouthful for you," said the youngster, and threw the pauper boy into the swallow; "taste that! But let me see now who you are! Perhaps you are an old acquaintance?" And so it was; it was the devil who was about again.”

3. (countable, uncountable)The amount swallowed in one gulp; the act of swallowing.

   “He took the aspirin with a single swallow of water.”

   “She took a swallow of milk and made a face. "This milk is blinky."”

4. (countable, uncountable)The opening in a pulley block between the sheave and shell through which the rope passes.

   “In addition, j-lock shackles can pass through the swallow of a modern genoa track even with a sheet in tension already there, and this is very useful when preparing a sail change on the same tack.”

   “Blocks are made in a great variety of patterns. All are designed to be used one way. The rope goes through the swallow.”

   “When specifying blocks, excessive friction is avoided by ensuring (a) that the diameter of the sheave is at least twice the circumference of the rope or six times its diameter (preferably more), and (b) that the 'swallow' of the block is substantially wider than the diameter of the rope, to avoid rubbing against the inside of the cheeks.”

5. (Nigeria, countable, uncountable)Any of various carbohydrate-based dishes that are swallowed without much chewing, commonly paired and eaten with various types of soup.
6. A small, migratory bird of the Hirundinidae family with long, pointed, moon-shaped wings and a forked tail which feeds on the wing by catching insects.

name

1. (countable, uncountable)A surname.
2. (countable, uncountable)A village and civil parish in West Lindsey district, Lincolnshire, England (OS grid ref TA1703).