ˈswɒloʊ jɔːr praɪd
Emotions
neutral
beginner
- Literally:
- Consuming your sense of pride
What does "swallow your pride" mean?
- To accept something humiliating
- To put aside your ego for practical reasons
Examples
- I had to swallow my pride and ask for help.
- Swallow your pride and apologize.
- She swallowed her pride and returned to her old job.
Origin
From the difficulty of 'swallowing' something unpleasant. Pride is portrayed as something that must be digested.
How to use it
Implies difficult but necessary action. Often good advice for conflict resolution.
Similar expressions
humble yourself
eat humble pie
bite the bullet
Opposites
stand on pride
refuse to back down
be stubborn
Related idioms
- hang in there
To persevere during difficult times
- lose your temper
To become suddenly angry
- get cold feet
To become nervous or afraid before doing something important
- on top of the world
Feeling extremely happy and successful
- rain on someone's parade
To spoil someone's plans or enthusiasm
- blow off steam
To release pent-up energy or emotion through activity
Use it in a practice answer
Try "swallow your pride" in a CELPIP-style Speaking or Writing task. The AI feedback tells you whether your word choice worked.