swill

1 of 2

verb

ˈswil 

swilled; swilling; swills

transitive verb

1

: wash, drench

2

: to drink great drafts of : guzzle

swill beer

3

: to feed (an animal, such as a pig) with swill

intransitive verb

1

: to drink or eat freely, greedily, or to excess

2

: swash

swiller noun

swill

2 of 2

noun

1

: something suggestive of slop or garbage : refuse

2

a

: a semiliquid food for animals (such as swine) composed of edible refuse mixed with water or skimmed or sour milk

b

: garbage

Synonyms

Verb

• gorge
• gormandize
• overeat
• pig out

Noun

• belt
• draft
• drag
• drink
• gulp
• nip
• quaff
• shot
• sip
• slug
• snort
• sup
• swallow
• swig

Examples of swill in a Sentence

Verb

She watched the water swill around in the bucket.

He swilled the water around in the pot.

He swilled the floor with buckets of water.

Noun

took his daily swill of the foul-tasting medicine

I don't know what's in this swill, but I know that I'm not eating it.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

On a frigid evening in January, two homeless men sat on a bench downtown, swilling malt liquor. —Max Klaver, Miami Herald, 20 Mar. 2025

The boss wants you in traffic and swilling stale office coffee again. —Dan Vergano, Scientific American, 12 Feb. 2025

Noun

The muzzle of a hunting rifle poked out from the back seat, and a water bottle on the front console was filled with the brown swill of chewing tobacco. —Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025

How the temperature and timing of the pour can be the difference between a sublime cup of caffeinated goodness or diner-level swill. —Anthony Karcz, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English swilen, from Old English swillan

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

1553, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for swill

• bill
• brill
• chill
• drill
• fil
• fill
• frill
• gill
• grill
• grille
• jill
• kill

Kids Definition

swill

1 of 2 verb

ˈswil 

1

: drench

2

: to drink or eat greedily

3

: to feed (as a pig) with swill

swiller noun

swill

2 of 2 noun

1

: food for animals (as pigs) made from scraps of food mixed with water or skimmed or sour milk

2

: garbage, refuse

3

: swig entry 1