Thought you’d swallowed it (8)
I believe the answer is:
believed
'thought' is the definition.
('believe' can be a synonym of 'think')
I can't explain the rest of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for believed that I've seen before include "Credited" , "Regarded as true" , "Accepted as true" , "Thought" .)