swallow

swallow

I

swal‧low¹ /ˈswɒləʊ $ ˈswɑːloʊ/ verb1.  FOOD  [intransitive and transitive] to make food or drink go down your throat and towards your stomach:
    He swallowed the last of his coffee and asked for the bill.
    Most snakes swallow their prey whole.
2.  NERVOUSLY  [intransitive] to make some of the liquid in your mouth go down your throat because you are frightened or nervous:
    Leo swallowed hard and walked into the room.
    She swallowed nervously before beginning.
3.  BELIEVE/ACCEPT  [transitive] informal to believe a story, explanation etc that is not actually true:
    Do they really think we are stupid enough to swallow that?
    I found his story a bit hard to swallow (=difficult to believe).
4.  FEELINGS  [transitive] to stop yourself from showing a feeling, especially anger:
    She swallowed her anger and turned to face him.
5. swallow your pride to do something even though it is embarrassing for you, because you have no choice:
    I swallowed my pride and phoned him.
⇨ a bitter pill (to swallow) at bitter¹(7)
     
swallow somebody/something ↔ up phrasal verb
  1. if a company or country is swallowed up by a larger one, it becomes part of it and no longer exists on its own:
    Hundreds of small companies have been swallowed up by these huge multinationals.
  2. written if something is swallowed up, it disappears because something covers it or hides it:
    Jane was soon swallowed up in the crowd.
    The countryside is gradually being swallowed up by new developments.
  3. if an amount of money is swallowed up, you have to spend it to pay for things:
    The extra cash was soon swallowed up.

II

swallow² noun [countable]1. a small black and white bird that comes to northern countries in the summer
2. an action in which you make food or drink go down your throat:
    He downed his whisky in one swallow.