swallow
/'swɔlou/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun:
- A small migratory bird: A small, long-winged songbird known for its swift, graceful flight and regular migration patterns.
- The act of swallowing: The bodily action of making something pass from the mouth down the throat.
- A single gulp of a liquid: A small amount of liquid taken into the mouth and swallowed at one time.
Verb:
- To cause food or drink to pass from the mouth to the stomach: To take something into the stomach through the throat.
- To accept or believe something without question: To believe something, even if it is hard to believe or you have doubts.
- To suppress or hold back an emotion or reaction: To stop yourself from expressing a feeling, such as anger or pride.
- To take back something said: To retract a statement.
- To envelop or make disappear: To cause something to be completely surrounded, covered, or absorbed.
Usage Examples
Noun:
- We watched the swallows darting across the evening sky.
- He took the medicine with one quick swallow.
- She took a swallow of water to clear her throat.
Verb:
- Chew your food well before you swallow it.
- It's hard to swallow his excuse for being late again.
- She had to swallow her pride and ask for help.
- He was forced to swallow his words after the plan succeeded.
- The fog seemed to swallow the entire city.
Advanced Usage
"Swallow one's pride": To force yourself to be humble, especially when it is difficult or embarrassing.
- He had to swallow his pride and apologize.
"Swallow the bait": To be tricked or deceived; to fall for a trap.
- The scam was obvious, but he still swallowed the bait.
"Swallow the story/idea whole": To believe something completely without any skepticism.
- She swallowed the conspiracy theory whole.
Variants and Related Words
- Swallowable (adj): Able to be swallowed.
- Swallower (n): One who or that which swallows.
Synonyms
- Verb: Gulp, ingest, consume, accept, believe, endure, suppress, retract, engulf.
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Swallow up:
- To completely surround, envelop, or absorb.
- The large corporation swallowed up several smaller competitors.
- To use something completely, especially money or resources.
- The cost of repairs swallowed up all our savings.
Related Idioms
One swallow does not make a summer: A single piece of evidence or one good event is not enough to prove that a general situation is good or will improve.
- Winning one game is nice, but one swallow does not make a summer; we need to keep playing well.
Hard/Pill to swallow: Something that is difficult to accept or believe.
- The news of the budget cuts was a bitter pill to swallow.
Noun
- small long-winged songbird noted for swift graceful flight and the regularity of its migrations
- the act of swallowing
- one swallow of the liquid was enough
- he took a drink of his beer and smacked his lips
- a small amount of liquid food
- a sup of ale
Verb
- believe or accept without questioning or challenge
- Am I supposed to swallow that story?
- tolerate or accommodate oneself to
- I shall have to accept these unpleasant working conditions
- I swallowed the insult
- She has learned to live with her husband's little idiosyncrasies
- keep from expressing
- I swallowed my anger and kept quiet
- take back what one has said
- He swallowed his words
- utter indistinctly
- She swallowed the last words of her speech
- enclose or envelop completely, as if by swallowing
- The huge waves swallowed the small boat and it sank shortly thereafter
- engulf and destroy
- The Nazis swallowed the Baltic countries
- pass through the esophagus as part of eating or drinking
- Swallow the raw fish--it won't kill you!