To guzzle means to drink something quickly and greedily, often in large gulps. Picture someone who's just finished running laps on a hot day: instead of sipping their water slowly, they tip back the bottle and guzzle it down, barely stopping to breathe. The word captures both the speed and the enthusiasm of the drinking.

You can guzzle almost any liquid, though people usually use the word for drinks consumed in quantity: someone might guzzle lemonade at a picnic or guzzle hot chocolate after sledding. The word often suggests a lack of restraint or manners. At a formal dinner, you wouldn't guzzle your juice, you'd sip it politely. But after a hard game of soccer, guzzling water from the cooler just makes sense.

People also use guzzle to describe machines that consume fuel rapidly. A big truck that guzzles gas uses it up quickly and inefficiently, burning through tank after tank. Whether it's a person guzzling soda or a car guzzling gasoline, the word always suggests consuming something quickly and in large amounts.