# swallow

> English word · Verb · IPA /ˈswɒl.əʊ/ · frequency rank #8,731

## Definitions
1. To cause (food, drink etc.) to pass from the mouth into the stomach; to take into the stomach through the throat.
2. To take (something) in so that it disappears; to consume, absorb.
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. To accept easily or without questions; to believe, accept.
5. To engross; to appropriate; usually with up.
6. To retract; to recant.
7. To put up with; to bear patiently or without retaliation.

## 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”).

## Easily confused with
- **swallowed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/swallow-vs-swallowed)
- **shallow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shallow-vs-swallow)
- **scallop** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scallop-vs-swallow)
- **shallows** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shallows-vs-swallow)

## Common misspellings (9)
`sawllow`, `sswallow`, `swalloww`, `swallwo`, `swalolw`, `swalow`, `swlalow`, `swwallow`, `wsallow`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/swallow