swig
Americannoun
verb (used with or without object)
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
have swiggedperfect
-
has swiggedperfect 3rd person singular
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swigssingular 3rd person
-
swiggingparticiple
-
am swiggingprogressive 1st person singular
-
have been swiggingperfect progressive
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are swiggingprogressive
-
has been swiggingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
-
is swiggingprogressive 3rd person singular
Past
-
had swiggedperfect
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was swiggingprogressive singular
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swiggedparticiple
-
had been swiggingperfect progressive
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swiggedsimple
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were swiggingprogressive plural
Future
Etymology
Origin of swig
First recorded in 1540–50; origin uncertain
Explanation
A swig is a big, fast gulp, like the swig you take from your water bottle after hiking up a hill on a hot summer day. If your dainty friend is delicately sipping her iced tea while you swig yours, you'll definitely be finished first. To swig is to take a big, healthy slurp of a drink. Originally this informal word was associated with alcoholic beverages, but today you can use it for anything you're drinking with gusto. Experts aren't sure where swig comes from, but some guess it's connected to the Old English swelgan, "to swallow."
Vocabulary lists containing swig
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Years later, at the parade celebrating her team’s victory in the 2019 World Cup, Ms. Rapinoe took a big swig of Champagne, threw her arms wide and proclaimed, “I deserve this!”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026
I plopped myself into a chair near the front of Gate 18D on Jan. 25 at Sacramento International Airport, taking a final swig of my 32-oz Diet Coke.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 3, 2026
On cue, the camera cut to Rhea Perlman passing her silver flagon to Lisa Ann Walter, who took a swig.
From Salon • Feb. 25, 2024
Thomson went to take a swig out of his bottle of bubbly and - doink!
From Washington Times • Sep. 26, 2023
She herself felt fine after a swig of nectar and some water, but she was still worried about the boys.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
