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
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/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
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