swallow

/ˈswɒl.əʊ/

//ˈswɒl.əʊ// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"swallow" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“swallow” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,731. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,731
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To cause (food, drink etc.) to pass from the mouth into the stomach; to take into the stomach through the throat.

Corpus desk

Index EN-swallow · swallow · English

swallow · rank #8,731 · 9 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,731
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH surplus

Nearest frequency peer: surplus (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “swallow”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “swallow” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

swallow vs swallowed
78% similar
swallow vs shallow
86% similar
swallow vs scallop
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for swallow
PropertyValue
Headwordswallow
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈswɒl.əʊ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#8,731
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “swallow”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).swallowlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “surplus” (#8,730), “systematic” (#8,732), “sodium” (#8,729). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “swallow” is #8,731. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around swallow (IPA /ˈswɒl.əʊ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #8,731 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for swallow, with forms such as "sawllow", "sswallow", and "swalloww". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "swallowed", "shallow", "scallop", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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”), Ge… The correct English form is swallow, spelled S-W-A-L-L-O-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    To cause (food, drink etc.) to pass from the mouth into the stomach; to take into the stomach through the throat.
  2. 2
    To take (something) in so that it disappears; to consume, absorb.
  3. 3
    To take food down into the stomach; to make the muscular contractions of the oesophagus to achieve this, often taken as a sign of nervousness or strong emotion.
  4. 4
    To accept easily or without questions; to believe, accept.
  5. 5
    To engross; to appropriate; usually with up.
  6. 6
    To retract; to recant.
  7. 7
    To put up with; to bear patiently or without retaliation.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how swallow appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. 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.
  2. Clothes are to be worn and food is to be swallowed: they remain trapped in the physical world.

Etymology

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”), Swedish svälja (“to swallow, gulp”), 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”).

This word in other languages

tragar(Español)avaler(Français)schlucken(Deutsch)engolir(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • sawllow
  • sswallow
  • swalloww
  • swallwo
  • swalolw
  • swalow
  • swlalow
  • swwallow
  • wsallow

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of swallow - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

sawllow2sswallow1swalloww1swallwo2swalolw2swalow1swlalow2swwallow1
Edit distance from "swallow"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "swallow"?
"swallow" is spelled S-W-A-L-L-O-W. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈswɒl.əʊ/.
What does "swallow" mean?
As a verb, "swallow" means: To cause (food, drink etc.) to pass from the mouth into the stomach; to take into the stomach through the throat.
What words are commonly confused with "swallow"?
"swallow" is commonly confused with "swallowed", "shallow", "scallop". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "swallow"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "swallow" is /ˈswɒl.əʊ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "swallow"?
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, gu... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "swallow", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

surplus#8,730sliding#8,728unaware#8,737rubbish#8,723

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

unified9 variantsantique9 variantsMorrison9 variantscrosses9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list