swallow
[verb]
Synonyms: gulp, consume, devour, drink, eat, swig (informal)

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Related Idioms: swallow (something) hook, line, and sinker
Related Words: drop, gulp, quilt, toss, ingest, ingurgitate

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English Thesaurus: believe, accept, take sb’s word for it, give somebody the benefit of the doubt, be taken in, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. swal‧low¹ /ˈswɒləʊ $ ˈswɑːloʊ/ verb
[Language: Old English; Origin: swelgan]

1. FOOD [intransitive and transitive] to make food or drink go down your throat and towards your stomach:
He swallowed the last of his coffee and asked for the bill.
Most snakes swallow their prey whole.

2. NERVOUSLY [intransitive] to make some of the liquid in your mouth go down your throat because you are frightened or nervous:
Leo swallowed hard and walked into the room.
She swallowed nervously before beginning.

3. BELIEVE/ACCEPT [transitive] informal to believe a story, explanation etc that is not actually true:
Do they really think we are stupid enough to swallow that?
I found his story a bit hard to swallow (=difficult to believe).

4. FEELINGS [transitive] to stop yourself from showing a feeling, especially anger:
She swallowed her anger and turned to face him.

5. swallow your pride to do something even though it is embarrassing for you, because you have no choice:
I swallowed my pride and phoned him.
⇒ a bitter pill (to swallow) at bitter¹(7)
swallow somebody/something ↔ up phrasal verb

1. if a company or country is swallowed up by a larger one, it becomes part of it and no longer exists on its own:
Hundreds of small companies have been swallowed up by these huge multinationals.

2. written if something is swallowed up, it disappears because something covers it or hides it:
Jane was soon swallowed up in the crowd.
The countryside is gradually being swallowed up by new developments.

3. if an amount of money is swallowed up, you have to spend it to pay for things:
The extra cash was soon swallowed up.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. swallow² noun [countable]
[Sense 1: Language: Old English; Origin: swealwe]
[Sense 2: Date: 1800-1900; Origin: ⇒ swallow¹]

1. a small black and white bird that comes to northern countries in the summer

2. an action in which you make food or drink go down your throat:
He downed his whisky in one swallow.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

swallow
verb
I. food/drink, etc.
ADV. hastily, quickly | accidentally She accidentally swallowed a glass bead.
easily Liquid food may be more easily swallowed.
down She swallowed down her breakfast in a hurry.
PHRASES swallow sth whole Most snakes swallow their prey whole.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

swallow
II. move your throat muscles
ADV. deeply, hard | convulsively, drily, nervously, painfully She swallowed convulsively, determined not to cry.
back He swallowed back the lump in his throat.
VERB + SWALLOW have to She had to swallow hard before she could speak.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

believe to be sure that something is true or that someone is telling the truth:
I believed her when she said that she loved me.
Don’t believe anything he tells you.
accept to believe that something is true, especially because someone has persuaded you to believe it:
His wife accepted his explanation for why he was late.
Leah had slowly come to accept her brother’s version of events.
take sb’s word for it especially spoken to believe what someone says is true, even though you have no proof or experience of it:
I don’t know anything about him, so I’ll just have to take your word for it.
You don’t have to take my word for it – go and see for yourself.
‘Cakes are very easy to make.’ ‘I’ll take your word for it.’
give somebody the benefit of the doubt to believe what someone says, even though you think it might not be true:
Unless you have proof, you should give him the benefit of the doubt.
be taken in (also fall for something informal) to be tricked into believing something that is not true:
A lot of people were taken in by these claims.
I can’t believe she fell for that old excuse!
swallow informal to believe a story or explanation that is not true, especially when this makes you seem silly:
His aunt had swallowed his story unquestioningly.
Police refused to swallow his story, and put him in a cell.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

sip (also take a sip) to drink something very slowly
slurp informal to drink something in a noisy way
gulp something down (also down something) to drink all of something very quickly
knock something back informal to drink all of an alcoholic drink very quickly
swig (also take/have a swig) informal to drink something quickly with large mouthfuls, especially from a bottle
swallow to make food or drink go down your throat and towards your stomach:
She swallowed the bitter medicine instead of spitting it out.
have a drink (=drink something, especially an alcoholic drink)
Let’s go and have a drink.
take a drink
He took another long drink of water.
go for a drink (=go to a pub or bar)
Why don’t we go for a drink after work?
buy/get somebody a drink (=in a pub or a bar)
It’s my turn to buy you a drink.
pour (somebody) a drink
She got out two glasses and poured us a drink.
make (somebody) a drink (=make tea or coffee)
Shall I make you a hot drink?
sip your drink (=drink it in very small amounts)
Connie was sitting at the table, sipping her drink slowly.
down your drink (=drink it very quickly)
He downed his drink and stood up.
a soft drink (=which does not contain alcohol)
Would you like some wine, or a soft drink?
an alcoholic drink (=containing alcohol)
Beer, wine, and other alcoholic drinks will be available.
a fizzy drink British English, a carbonated drink American English (=with bubbles of gas)
Dentists have warned that sweet fizzy drinks are bad for children’s teeth.
a hot/warm drink
Come inside and I’ll make you a hot drink.
a cool/cold drink
They were all out in the garden, sipping cool drinks.
a refreshing drink (=making you feel less tired or hot)
Enjoy a refreshing drink in our lakeside café.
a stiff/strong drink (=a drink with a lot of strong alcohol)
He was in need of a stiff drink to calm himself down.
a relaxing/leisurely drink (=that you drink in a slow relaxed way)
The hotel terrace is an ideal place to enjoy a relaxing drink.
a diet drink/a low-calorie drink (=containing less sugar than ordinary ones)
People are buying more and more diet drinks.
a celebratory drink (=in order to celebrate something)
After winning the game, they went out for a celebratory drink.
drink something that you drink:
‘Would you like a drink?’ ‘Yes, I’ll have a lemonade.’
They had a few drinks in a local bar.
something to drink especially spoken a drink:
Can I get you something to drink?
soft drink a cold drink that does not contain alcohol, especially one that is sweet and has bubbles in it:
Coca-Cola and other soft drinks
toast a drink, usually of wine, that a group of people have on a special occasion, for example to celebrate something or wish someone luck in the future:
At midnight they all drank a toast to the New Year.
beverage /ˈbevərɪdʒ/ formal especially written a drink – often used on menus and signs:
Beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage.
the list of beverages

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

swallow
̈ɪˈswɔləu
See: look like the cat that ate the canary

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲