dwell

[dwel]

verb (used without object)

dwelt, dwelled, dwelling. 

1. to live or stay as a permanent resident; reside.

2. to live or continue in a given condition or state.

   to dwell in happiness.

3. to linger over, emphasize, or ponder in thought, speech, or writing (often followed by on orupon ).

   to dwell on a particular point in an argument.

4. (of a moving tool or machine part) to be motionless for a certain interval during operation.

noun

1. Machinery.

   1. a flat or cylindrical area on a cam for maintaining a follower in a certain position during part of a cycle.

   2. a period in a cycle in the operation of a machine or engine during which a given part remains motionless.

dwell

/ dwɛl /

verb

1. formal,  to live as a permanent resident

2. to live (in a specified state)

   to dwell in poverty

noun

1. a regular pause in the operation of a machine

2. a flat or constant-radius portion on a linear or rotary cam enabling the cam follower to remain static for a brief time

Other Word Forms

• dweller noun
• outdwell verb (used with object)
• predwell verb (used without object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of dwell¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English dwellen “to lead astray; stun; abide,” Old English dwellan “to lead or go astray; hinder”; cognate with Old Norse dvelja

Word History and Origins

Origin of dwell¹

Old English dwellan to seduce, get lost; related to Old Saxon bidwellian to prevent, Old Norse dvelja, Old High German twellen to prevent

Example Sentences

"We have made so many positives, so we won't dwell on our mistakes that we made."

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For many people in their 20s, the possibility of dying at a young age is not something they have to dwell on.

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There is this liminality between the living and the dead, an in-between where the bonds of love can still dwell.

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It’s difficult not to dwell on just how clownish our current reality has become while witnessing the absolute foolishness of this spectacle.

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Such obvious jokes about inequality, it seems, have become tricky territory - because they reinforce the divides that the Chinese Communist Party would rather people not dwell on.

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Related Words

• bide 
• exist 
• hole up 
• inhabit 
• reside 
• squat