swill

/swɪl/

//swɪl// noun

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

"swill" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“swill” is uncommon English (frequency #65,548 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#65,548
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A mixture of solid and liquid food scraps fed to pigs etc; especially kitchen waste for this purpose.

Corpus desk

Index EN-swill · swill · English

swill · rank #65,548 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #65,548
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH swashbuckling

Nearest frequency peer: swashbuckling (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “swill”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “swill” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for swill
PropertyValue
Headwordswill
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/swɪl/
Letters5
Frequency rank#65,548
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “swill” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).swillfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “swashbuckling” (#65,547), “sustainment” (#65,546), “Syr” (#65,550). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “swill” is #65,548. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

swill is uncommon English at frequency #65,548 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /swɪl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for swill in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English swilen (“to wash; swirl; wash away”), from Old English swillan, swilian (“to wash; wash down; swill; gargle”), from Proto-West Germanic *swilljan, from Proto-Germanic *swiljaną (“to gulp, swallow”), from Proto-Indo-European *swel- (“to d… The correct English form is swill, spelled S-W-I-L-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A mixture of solid and liquid food scraps fed to pigs etc; especially kitchen waste for this purpose.
  2. 2
    Any disgusting or distasteful liquid.
  3. 3
    Anything disgusting or worthless.
  4. 4
    A large quantity of liquid drunk at one swallow.
  5. 5
    Inexpensive beer or alcohol.
  6. 6
    A badly-thrown pass.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I cannot believe anyone could drink this swill.
  2. This new TV show is a worthless load of swill.

Etymology

From Middle English swilen (“to wash; swirl; wash away”), from Old English swillan, swilian (“to wash; wash down; swill; gargle”), from Proto-West Germanic *swilljan, from Proto-Germanic *swiljaną (“to gulp, swallow”), from Proto-Indo-European *swel- (“to drink, gulp, swallow”). Related to swallow.

This word in other languages

bazofia(Español)soupe(Français)Schweinefutter(Deutsch)lavagem(Português)

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 "swill"?
"swill" is spelled S-W-I-L-L. The IPA pronunciation is /swɪl/.
What does "swill" mean?
As a noun, "swill" means: A mixture of solid and liquid food scraps fed to pigs etc; especially kitchen waste for this purpose.
How do you pronounce "swill"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "swill" is /swɪl/. 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 "swill"?
From Middle English swilen (“to wash; swirl; wash away”), from Old English swillan, swilian (“to wash; wash down; swill; gargle”), from Proto-West Germanic *swilljan, from Proto-Germanic *swiljaną (“to gulp, swallow”), from Proto-Indo-European *sw... 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 "swill", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

telos#65,559spica#65,527sonne#65,516shuns#65,499

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list