English Explanatory Dictionary

swill

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A mixture of solid and liquid food scraps fed to pigs etc; especially kitchen waste for this purpose.
  2. Any disgusting or distasteful liquid.
  3. Anything disgusting or worthless.
  4. A large quantity of liquid drunk at one swallow.
  5. Inexpensive beer or alcohol.
  6. A badly-thrown pass.
verb
  1. To drink (or, rarely, eat) greedily or to excess.
  2. To wash (something) by flooding with water.
  3. To move (a liquid or liquid-filled vessel) in a circular motion.
  4. To move around or over a surface.
  5. To inebriate; to fill with drink.
  6. To feed swill to (pigs).

Pronunciation

/swɪl/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-swill.wav

Word forms

swill swills swilling swilled

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.

Synonyms

hogwash slops pigswill swig

Derived words

monkey swill six o'clock swill swill-belly swillbelly swill-bowl swill-box swill-can swill-flagon swill milk swill-pail swill-pot swill-tub swilltub unrepresentative swill swill down swiller swill up unswilled
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