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swallow

When you swallow food or liquid is pushed from your mouth to the esophagus. Chew your food well before you swallow it.

As a verb, swallow means "to enclose or envelop completely," like quicksand that swallows everything that falls into it. Swallow can also mean "to stop from expressing," like when you swallow your pride and ask for help. The noun swallow describes a gulp, though you don't always do it for digestion; sometimes a few swallows of air help you keep from crying. A swallow is also a type of small songbird.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: swallow

1
 vn
pass through the esophagus as part of eating or drinking
the act of swallowing
2
 v
enclose or envelop completely, as if by swallowing
3
 v
keep from expressing
4
 v
believe or accept without questioning or challenge
5
 n
small long-winged songbird noted for swift graceful flight and the regularity of its migrations
FULL DEFINITIONS OF: swallow
1

v pass through the esophagus as part of eating or drinking

“Swallow the raw fish--it won't kill you!”
Synonyms:
get down
Types:
bolt
swallow hastily
Type of:
consume, have, ingest, take, take in
serve oneself to, or consume regularly

n the act of swallowing

“one swallow of the liquid was enough”
Synonyms:
deglutition, drink
Types:
aerophagia
swallowing air (usually followed by belching and discomfort and flatulence)
draft, draught, gulp, swig
a large and hurried swallow
sip
a small drink
Type of:
consumption, ingestion, intake, uptake
the process of taking food into the body through the mouth (as by eating)

n a small amount of liquid food

Synonyms:
sup
Type of:
mouthful, taste
a small amount eaten or drunk
2

v enclose or envelop completely, as if by swallowing

“The huge waves swallowed the small boat and it sank shortly thereafter”
Synonyms:
bury, eat up, immerse, swallow up
Type of:
close in, enclose, inclose, shut in
surround completely

v engulf and destroy

“The Nazis swallowed the Baltic countries”
Type of:
demolish, destroy
defeat soundly
3

v keep from expressing

“I swallowed my anger and kept quiet”
Type of:
repress, suppress
put out of one's consciousness

v take back what one has said

“He swallowed his words”
Synonyms:
take back, unsay, withdraw
Type of:
disown, renounce, repudiate
cast off

v utter indistinctly

“She swallowed the last words of her speech”
Type of:
mouth, speak, talk, utter, verbalise, verbalize
express in speech
4

v believe or accept without questioning or challenge

“Am I supposed to swallow that story?”
Type of:
believe
accept as true; take to be true

v tolerate or accommodate oneself to

“I swallowed the insult”
Synonyms:
accept, live with
Type of:
abide, bear, brook, digest, endure, put up, stand, stick out, stomach, suffer, support, tolerate
put up with something or somebody unpleasant
5

n small long-winged songbird noted for swift graceful flight and the regularity of its migrations

Types:
show 8 types...
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Hirundo rustica, barn swallow, chimney swallow
common swallow of North America and Europe that nests in barns etc.
Hirundo pyrrhonota, cliff swallow
North American swallow that lives in colonies and builds bottle-shaped mud nests on cliffs and walls
Hirundo nigricans, tree martin, tree swallow
of Australia and Polynesia; nests in tree cavities
Iridoprocne bicolor, tree swallow, white-bellied swallow
bluish-green-and-white North American swallow; nests in tree cavities
martin
any of various swallows with squarish or slightly forked tail and long pointed wings; migrate around Martinmas
Delichon urbica, house martin
common small European martin that builds nests under the eaves of houses
Riparia riparia, bank martin, bank swallow, sand martin
swallow of the northern hemisphere that nests in tunnels dug in clay or sand banks
Progne subis, purple martin
large North American martin of which the male is blue-black
Type of:
oscine, oscine bird
passerine bird having specialized vocal apparatus
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