swallow one's words
English
Verb
swallow one's words (third-person singular simple present swallows one's words, present participle swallowing one's words, simple past and past participle swallowed one's words)
- To be forced to retract a prior statement after it has been shown to be disproven; to take back what one has said.
- To speak at a low volume due to uncertainty about one's speech; to mumble.
Translations
to be forced to retract a prior statement
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to mumble
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Further reading
- “swallow one's words” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
- “swallow one's words” in the Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- “swallow one's words” in the Collins English Dictionary