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swill

Syllabification: (swill)
Pronunciation: /swil/

Translate swill | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of swill

verb

  • 1 [with object] British wash or rinse out (an area or container) by pouring large amounts of water or other liquid over or into it:I swilled out the mug
  • cause (liquid) to swirl around in a container or cavity:she gently swilled her brandy around her glass
  • [no object] (of a liquid) move or splash about over a surface:the icy water swilled around us
  • 2 [with object] drink (something) greedily or in large quantities:they whiled away their evening swilling pints of beer (as adjective swilling)his beer-swilling pals
  • accompany (food) with large quantities of drink:a feast swilled down with pints of cider

noun

  • 1kitchen refuse and scraps of waste food mixed with water for feeding to pigs.
  • alcohol of inferior quality:the beer was just warm swill
  • 2a large mouthful of a drink:a swill of ale

Derivatives

swiller

noun
[usually in combination]:beer-swillers

Origin:

Old English swillan, swilian (verb), of unknown origin. The noun dates from the mid 16th century

swill in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of swill in the British & World English dictionary
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