: 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
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
Noun
But if that was a hard swallow for many, the new logistics of playing games in North Carolina, Florida, New York and Pennsylvania create a range of concrete issues which held hostage the attention of the athletic department the past 12 months.—Jeff Faraudo, The Mercury News, 5 Aug. 2024 The big picture: The large swallows — identified by their indigo feathers and long, tapered wings — spend each summer in the Houston area to roost and feed on insects to fuel up before their long journey to South America.—Nicole Cobler, Axios, 2 Aug. 2024
Verb
After that, swallow it and breathe through your nose, getting the final full measure of its complexities.—Richard Carleton Hacker, Robb Report, 6 Sep. 2024 Particularly upsetting and painful are the scenes where Bloom binges and purges, swallowing a candy bar before barfing it back down the toilet.—Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for swallow
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.
Word History
Etymology
Noun (1)
Middle English swalowe, from Old English swealwe; akin to Old High German swalawa swallow
Verb
Middle English swalowen, from Old English swelgan; akin to Old High German swelgan to swallow
First Known Use
Noun (1)
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
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