Standard Lemma guide

swill

noun · verb · 15 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /swɪl/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɪl
  • CMU ARPABET: S W IH1 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A mixture of solid and liquid food scraps fed to pigs etc; especially kitchen waste for this purpose.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: collective, countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: hogwash, slops, pigswill

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Any disgusting or distasteful liquid.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: broadly, countable, uncountable

Examples

  • I cannot believe anyone could drink this swill.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Anything disgusting or worthless.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: broadly, countable, figuratively, uncountable

Examples

  • This new TV show is a worthless load of swill.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A large quantity of liquid drunk at one swallow.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, informal, uncountable

Examples

  • He took a swill of his drink and tried to think of words.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: swig

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

Inexpensive beer or alcohol.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, informal, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

A badly-thrown pass.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Qualifier: ultimate frisbee

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

verb

Meaning 7

To drink (or, rarely, eat) greedily or to excess.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Examples

  • 1944, Rutherford George Montgomery (as Al Avery), A Yankee Flier in Italy, New York: Grosset & Dunlap, Chapter 1, p. 9, O’Malley answered calmly as he shoved half of the pie into his mouth. “Stop! Stop—swilling that pie!” the colonel roared.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

verb

Meaning 8

To wash (something) by flooding with water.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

verb

Meaning 9

To move (a liquid or liquid-filled vessel) in a circular motion.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

10

verb

Meaning 10

To move around or over a surface.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

Examples

  • 2000, Hanif Kureishi, “Goodbye, Mother” in Granta 69, Spring 2000, p. 119, The smell, the internal workings of every human being, the shit, blood, mucus swilling in a bag of flesh, made him mad. He felt he was wearing the glasses the stage hypnotist had given people, but instead of seeing them naked, he saw their inner physiology, their turbulence, their death.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

11

verb

Meaning 11

To inebriate; to fill with drink.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete, transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

12

verb

Meaning 12

To feed swill to (pigs).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

13

noun

Meaning 13

wet feed (especially for pigs) consisting of mostly kitchen waste mixed with water or skimmed or sour milk

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: slop, slops, pigswill, pigwash

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: feed, provender

14

verb

Meaning 14

drink large quantities of (liquid, especially alcoholic drink)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: swill down

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: drink, imbibe

15

verb

Meaning 15

feed pigs

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: slop

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: feed, give

History

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.

Across languages

Translations

85 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Central Bikol: laon — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Central Bikol: sagmaw — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Bulgarian: помия (pomija) — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Chinese Mandarin: 潲 (shào) — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Chinese Mandarin: 泔水 (gānshuǐ) — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Czech: pomyje — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Czech: pomeje — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Czech: šlichta — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Dutch: slobber — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Finnish: sianruoka — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • French: soupe — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Galician: bazofia — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Galician: brodio — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • German: Futtersuppe — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • German: Spültrank — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • German: Kaspel — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • German: Schweinefutter — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Greek: ξεπλύματα (xeplýmata) — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Hungarian: moslék — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Italian: pastone — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Italian: intruglio — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Italian: sbobba — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Italian: avanzi — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Italian: beverone — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Macedonian: помија (pomija) — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Polish: pomyje — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Portuguese: lavagem — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Romanian: lături — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Russian: помои (pomoi) — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Russian: по́йло (pójlo) — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Slovak: pomyje — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Slovak: zvyšky — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Spanish: tichate — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Spanish: bazofia — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Tagalog: kaning-baboy — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Waray-Waray: sagmaw — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Zhuang: raemxmok — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Zhuang: raemxuq — mixture of solid and liquid food scraps
  • Dutch: bocht — any disgusting or distasteful liquid
  • Finnish: kuravesi — any disgusting or distasteful liquid
  • Galician: brodio — any disgusting or distasteful liquid
  • Galician: galdrumada — any disgusting or distasteful liquid
  • Galician: goldroada — any disgusting or distasteful liquid
  • Galician: galdruxe — any disgusting or distasteful liquid
  • German: Brühe — any disgusting or distasteful liquid
  • German: Gesöff — any disgusting or distasteful liquid
  • German: Jauche — any disgusting or distasteful liquid
  • German: Fusel — any disgusting or distasteful liquid
  • Greek: ξέπλυμα (xéplyma) — any disgusting or distasteful liquid
  • Hungarian: lötty — any disgusting or distasteful liquid
  • Hungarian: kotyvalék — any disgusting or distasteful liquid
  • Hungarian: kutyulék — any disgusting or distasteful liquid
  • Italian: brodaglia — any disgusting or distasteful liquid
  • Italian: sbobba — any disgusting or distasteful liquid
  • Italian: risciacquatura — any disgusting or distasteful liquid
  • Macedonian: помија (pomija) — any disgusting or distasteful liquid
  • Polish: lura — any disgusting or distasteful liquid
  • Polish: siki — any disgusting or distasteful liquid
  • Russian: помои (pomoi) — any disgusting or distasteful liquid
  • Spanish: aguachirle — any disgusting or distasteful liquid
  • Finnish: roska — anything disgusting or worthless
  • Finnish: moska — anything disgusting or worthless
  • Galician: bazofia — anything disgusting or worthless
  • German: Schund — anything disgusting or worthless
  • Greek: ξέπλυμα (xéplyma) — anything disgusting or worthless
  • Hungarian: mosogatólé — anything disgusting or worthless
  • Italian: sbobba — anything disgusting or worthless
  • Italian: intruglio — anything disgusting or worthless
  • Italian: brodaglia — anything disgusting or worthless
  • Italian: sciacquatura — anything disgusting or worthless
  • Polish: syf — anything disgusting or worthless
  • Romanian: rahat — anything disgusting or worthless
  • Finnish: hörppy — large quantity of liquid drunk at one swallow
  • Finnish: kulaus — large quantity of liquid drunk at one swallow
  • German: Zug — large quantity of liquid drunk at one swallow
  • German: großer Schluck — large quantity of liquid drunk at one swallow
  • Italian: ingurgitata — large quantity of liquid drunk at one swallow
  • Polish: haust — large quantity of liquid drunk at one swallow
  • Romanian: dușcă — large quantity of liquid drunk at one swallow
  • Finnish: rapakalja — inexpensive beer or alcohol
  • Finnish: moska — inexpensive beer or alcohol
  • Polish: lura — inexpensive beer or alcohol
  • Portuguese: zurrapa — inexpensive beer or alcohol
  • Romanian: poșircă — inexpensive beer or alcohol
  • Polish: źle rzucone podanie — ultimate frisbee: badly-thrown pass