to swill down
1
8.0
- phrasal verb
- /swɪl daʊn/
- Informal
- After a long day at work, he quickly swilled down a cold beer to relax.
Examples
-
He devoured bags of cookies, swilled down quarts of milk.
Fiction book (1997) -
I got myself another cup of coffee and swilled it down.
Fiction book (1995) -
I remember the jars with Grusian tea, the huge cups that the hunters were swilling down.
Fiction book (1996) -
And lo and behold, place is turned into Egypt... and you're the queen of the Nile, sitting on your throne... swilling down my liquor.
-
That old fart in the Kremlin is swilling down a quart a day and promising us the capitalist paradise.
Fiction book (2001) -
She swilled down her drink in one go before heading to the dance floor.
-
Feeling thirsty after the hike, he swilled down a large bottle of water.
Synonyms
161
5.4
Eat or drink something quickly and completely
49
1.4
To finish all the liquid in a cup or bottle so nothing is left
38
2.9
Swallow a drink quickly, often because you feel nervous or thirsty
29
5.0
To drink something quickly in large gulps
20
5.8
To drink a lot very quickly
12
7.7
To drink or eat something very quickly, often without pausing
11
3.2
To empty a glass quickly in one long gulp
9
3.1
To eat or drink something quickly without stopping
6
7.5
To drink a lot quickly, usually alcoholic drinks
6
9.9
To drink something very quickly in one go
6
6.7
To drink a large amount quickly in one swallow
2
8.2
To drink an alcoholic drink quickly
1
5.7
To drink all of a glass or bottle quickly in one go
1
5.9
To drink coffee quickly in big gulps to wake up
1
8.4
To drink a whole glass quickly, often of alcohol
1
8.5
To drink quickly, often alcohol
To drink a liquid quickly in big gulps, often alcohol
Antonyms
How Fast
Surface Forms
Morphology
Both constituents independently denote rapid consumption—'swill' means to drink greedily/rapidly and 'down' adds the sense of consuming quickly—so their combination yields the meaning 'drink quickly or in large quantities' directly. This verb+particle composition follows a regular, compositional pattern found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Swill down may come from the word swill, the watery food people fed to pigs; imagine someone gulping like a pig at a feeding trough and sending the drink down quickly. That's why swill down means 'to drink quickly or in large quantities', often about alcohol.