swallow down

swallow down

1. To eat or drink something, especially very quickly. A noun or pronoun can be used between "swallow" and "down." The hungry child sat at the table swallowing down anything he could get his hands on. You're going to get brain freeze if you keep swallowing your milkshake down like that!

2. To accept some fact, information, news, etc., especially that which is unpleasant, difficult, or undesirable. A noun or pronoun can be used between "swallow" and "down." I know this news might be hard to swallow down, but there's no way we can avoid going into liquidation at this point. Dictatorships and corrupt governments manipulate and force people to swallow misinformation down without question.

See also: down, swallow

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

swallow something down

to swallow something. Here, take this pill and swallow it down. Liz swallowed down the pill.

See also: down, swallow

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.