Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A deep draft, especially of liquor; a gulp.
  • transitive & intransitive verb To drink (liquid) or engage in drinking liquid in great gulps.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A large or deep draught.
  • noun Ale and toasted bread.
  • Same as swag or sway. Specifically
  • To pull a rope fast at both ends upon, by throwing the weight on the bight of it.
  • To castrate, as a ram, by binding the testicles tight with a string so that they slough off.
  • noun A pull on a rope fast at both ends.
  • noun Nautical, a tackle the falls of which are not parallel.
  • To drink by large draughts; drink off rapidly and greedily: as, to swig one's liquor.
  • To suck, or suck at, eagerly, as when liquid will not come readily.
  • To take a swig, or deep draught.
  • To leak out.
  • To pass through; slip along; swirl through.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb Prov. Eng. To castrate, as a ram, by binding the testicles tightly with a string, so that they mortify and slough off.
  • transitive verb (Naut.) To pull upon (a tackle) by throwing the weight of the body upon the fall between the block and a cleat.
  • noun colloq. A long draught.
  • noun (Naut.) A tackle with ropes which are not parallel.
  • noun Prov. Eng. A beverage consisting of warm beer flavored with spices, lemon, etc.
  • transitive verb colloq. To drink in long draughts; to gulp.
  • transitive verb Obs. or Archaic To suck.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To drink (usually by gulping or in a greedy or unrefined manner); to quaff.
  • verb nautical To take up the last bit of slack in rigging by taking a single turn around a cleat, then hauling on the line above and below the cleat while keeping tension on the line (also: sweating)
  • noun A drink; sip.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb to swallow hurriedly or greedily or in one draught
  • verb strike heavily, especially with the fist or a bat
  • noun a large and hurried swallow

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Origin unknown.]

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Examples

  • The old man took a swig from the flask and smiled.

    365 tomorrows » 2010 » February : A New Free Flash Fiction SciFi Story Every Day 2010

  • The old man took a swig from the flask and smiled.

    365 tomorrows » Patricia Stewart : A New Free Flash Fiction SciFi Story Every Day 2010

  • His two female companions, Zombie and Eeyore, swig from a bottle of pricey Tejava tea and pass a smoke while lying on a blanket surrounded by a fortress of backpacks, bedrolls and scrawled signs asking for money.

    San Franciscans Try to Take Back Their Streets Heather MacDonald 2010

  • Finally, he walked back to his desk, opened another drawer, and popping several of the tablets into his mouth, swallowed them with a swig from a silver flask.

    Dr. V’s New Patient « A Fly in Amber 2008

  • Those questions always seem to crop up just as you are about to take a swig from a boiling cup of tea or squirting ketchup and other hazardous operations …

    ketchup 2007

  • Their plan was to change into rough shoes after supper and walk on the shingle between the sea and the lagoon known as the fleet, and if they had not finished the wine, they would take that along, and swig from the bottle like gentlemen of the road. next »

    Excerpt: On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan 2007

  • I scuttle over to where she is sitting and take a swig from the beer can she's been clutching.

    Poor Devil 2005

  • I scuttle over to where she is sitting and take a swig from the beer can she's been clutching.

    Poor Devil 2005

  • Sure, from time to time, I mention on here that I'm a recovering alcoholic, that five years and a few months ago I took a final swig from a bottle of warm Budweiser and haven't had another sip of alcohol since.

    Not So Perfect Friendship 2005

  • Sure, from time to time, I mention on here that I'm a recovering alcoholic, that five years and a few months ago I took a final swig from a bottle of warm Budweiser and haven't had another sip of alcohol since.

    June 2005 2005

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