How do you use the word "swallow" in a sentence?

Here are real-life examples of using "swallow": We just have to swallow it. First, swallow one dose of barium.

Swallow Meaning

/ˈswɒl.əʊ/

Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Definition

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

verbTo take (something) in so that it disappears; to consume, absorb.

Sentence Examples

We just have to swallow it.

First, swallow one dose of barium.

The boy can't tell a swallow from a sparrow.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

drink bury sup

Antonyms:

None

CEFR Practice Quiz

After chewing the food slowly, she tried to ____ the large, bitter pill but found it hard.

CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)

The little bird was finally able to ____ the large worm after a long and difficult struggle today.

Word Origin & History

From Middle English swolwen, from Old English swelgan, from Proto-West Germanic *swelgan, from Proto-Germanic *swelganą (“to swallow, revel, devour”), from Proto-Indo-European *swelk- (“to gulp”). Cognate with Dutch zwelgen (“to revel, carouse, guzzle”), German schwelgen (“to delight, indulge”), Danish svælge (“to swallow”), Norwegian Bokmål svelge (“to swallow”), Norwegian Nynorsk svelgje (“to swallow”), Swedish svälja (“to swallow, gulp”), Faroese svølgja (“to swallow”), Icelandic svelgja (“to swallow”), Old English swillan, swilian (“to swill, wash out, gargle”). See also swill. The noun is from Middle English swolow, swolwe, from Old English swelh, swelg (“gulf, chasm”) and ġeswelge (“gulf, chasm, abyss, whirlpool”), both from Proto-West Germanic *swelg, *swalgi, from Proto-Germanic *swelgaz, *swalgiz. Cognate with Old English swiliġe (“pit”), Scots swelch, swellie, swallie (“an abyss in the sea, whirpool”), Middle Low German swelch (“whirlpool, eddy”), Dutch zwelg (“gorge, chasm, gullet, throat”), Old Norse svelgr (“whirlpool, current, stream”).

Literary Quotations & Historical Citations

"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." — [1898], J[ohn] Meade Falkner, Moonfleet, London; Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape, published 1934, →OCLC:

"Clothes are to be worn and food is to be swallowed: they remain trapped in the physical world." — 2011 April 21, Jonathan Jones, The Guardian:

"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." — 2014 February 28, Joseph Berger, “Fast Acquittal for Kennedy, Whose Name Put Prosecutors in Bind”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 28 Aug 2022:

"The necessary provision of the life swallows the greatest part of their time." — a. 1705, John Locke, “Of the Conduct of the Understanding”, in Posthumous Works of Mr. John Locke: […], London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], published 1706, →OCLC:

"His body, like so many others swallowed by the ocean's hungry maw, was never found." — 2010 October 28, “What are the wild waves saying”, in The Economist:

Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words