sweat

American  

[swet] / swɛt /

verb (used without object)

sweat, sweated, sweating

1. to perspire, especially freely or profusely.

2. to exude moisture, as green plants piled in a heap or cheese.

3. to gather moisture from the surrounding air by condensation.

4. (of moisture or liquid) to ooze or be exuded.

5. Informal. to work hard.

6. Informal. to experience distress, as from anxiety.

7. (of tobacco) to ferment.

---

verb (used with object)

sweat, sweated, sweating

1. to excrete (perspiration, moisture, etc.) through the pores of the skin.

2. to exude in drops or small particles.

   The drying figs sweat tiny drops of moisture.

3. to send forth or get rid of with or like perspiration (often followed by out oroff ).

4. to wet or stain with perspiration.

5. to cause (a person, a horse, etc.) to perspire.

6. to cause to exude moisture, especially as a step in an industrial drying process.

   to sweat wood.

7. to earn, produce, or obtain (a result, promotion, compliment, etc.) by hard work.

8. to cause to lose (weight) as by perspiring or hard work.

   The hard week's work sweated five pounds off him.

9. to cause, force, or bring pressure on (a person, an animal, etc.) to work hard.

10. to employ (workers) at low wages, for long hours, or under other unfavorable conditions.

11. to labor with meticulous care over.

    The manufacturer of this beautiful car has really sweated the details.

12. Slang.

    1. to obtain or extort (money) from someone.

    2. to extort money from; fleece.

13. Slang. to subject to severe questioning; give the third degree to.

14. Metallurgy.

    1. to heat (an alloy) in order to remove a constituent melting at a lower temperature than the alloy as a whole.

    2. to heat (solder or the like) to melting.

    3. to join (metal objects) by heating and pressing together, usually with solder.

15. to remove bits of metal from (gold coins) by shaking them against one another, as in a bag.

16. to cause (tobacco or cocoa) to ferment.

noun

1. the process of sweating or perspiring.

2. that which is secreted from sweat glands; perspiration.

3. a state or a period of sweating.

4. hard work.

5. Informal. a state of anxiety or impatience.

6. a process of inducing sweating or perspiration, or of being sweated, as in medical treatment.

7. moisture exuded from something or gathered on a surface.

8. an exuding of moisture, as by a substance.

9. an inducing of such exudation, as in some industrial process.

10. a run given to a horse for exercise, as before a race.

11. Informal. sweats, sweatpants, sweatshirts, sweat suits, or the like.

adjective

1. Informal.

   1. (of clothes) made to be worn for exercise, sports, or other physical activity.

   2. made of the absorbent fabric used for such clothes.

      sweat dresses.

   3. of, for, or associated with such clothes.

      the sweat look in sportswear.

verb phrase

1. sweat out

   1. to await anxiously the outcome of; endure apprehensively.

      The accused sweated out the jury's deliberation.

   2. to work arduously at or toward.

      The director sweated out a camera angle with the cinematographer.

idioms

1. no sweat, with no difficulty or problem.

2. sweat blood,

   1. to be under a strain; work strenuously.

   2. to wait anxiously; worry.

      He was sweating blood while his friend was being questioned by the police.

3. sweat bullets,

   1. to sweat profusely.

   2. to be apprehensive; worry.

4. sweat it,

   1. to wait anxiously; endure the best way one can.

      There was no news of survivors, so all we could do was sweat it.

   2. to worry; be apprehensive.

      You'll do OK, so don't sweat it.

sweat British  

/ swɛt /

noun

1. the secretion from the sweat glands, esp when profuse and visible, as during strenuous activity, from excessive heat, etc; commonly also called perspiration

2. the act or process of secreting this fluid

3. the act of inducing the exudation of moisture

4. drops of moisture given forth or gathered on the surface of something

5. informal a state or condition of worry or eagerness (esp in the phrase in a sweat )

6. slang drudgery or hard labour

   mowing lawns is a real sweat!

7. an exercise gallop given to a horse, esp on the day of a race

8. slang a soldier, esp one who is old and experienced

9. slang (interjection) an expression suggesting that something can be done without problems or difficulty

---

verb

1. to secrete (sweat) through the pores of the skin, esp profusely

2. (tr) to make wet or stain with sweat

3. to give forth or cause to give forth (moisture) in droplets

   a sweating cheese

   the maple sweats sap

4. (intr) to collect and condense moisture on an outer surface

   a glass of beer sweating in the sun

5. (intr) (of a liquid) to pass through a porous surface in droplets

6. (of tobacco leaves, cut and dried hay, etc) to exude moisture and, sometimes, begin to ferment or to cause (tobacco leaves, etc) to exude moisture

7. (tr) to heat (food, esp vegetables) slowly in butter in a tightly closed saucepan

8. (tr) to join (pieces of metal) by pressing together and heating

9. (tr) to heat (solder) until it melts

10. (tr) to heat (a partially fused metal) to extract an easily fusible constituent

11. to shake together (coins, esp gold coins) so as to remove particles for illegal use

12. informal to suffer anxiety, impatience, or distress

13. informal to overwork or be overworked

14. informal (tr) to employ at very low wages and under bad conditions

15. informal (tr) to extort, esp by torture

    to sweat information out of a captive

16. informal (intr) to suffer punishment

    you'll sweat for this!

17. informal

    1. to work very hard

    2. to be filled with anxiety or impatience

sweat Scientific  

/ swĕt /

1. The salty liquid given off by sweat glands in the skin of mammals. As sweat evaporates, the skin cools, causing a reduction in body heat.

---

sweat More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing sweat

• by the sweat of one's brow
• in a cold sweat
• no problem (sweat)

---

Related Words

See perspiration.

Other Word Forms

• nonsweating adjective
• sweatless adjective
• unsweating adjective

Etymology

Origin of sweat

First recorded before 900; 1970–75 sweat for def. 6; (verb) Middle English sweten, Old English swǣtan “to sweat,” derivative of swāt (noun); (noun) Middle English swet, sweet, influenced by the verb, cognate with Dutch zweet, German Schweiss, Old Norse sveiti; akin to Sanskrit svéda-, Latin sūdor, Greek hidrṓs

Explanation

Sweat is perspiration that makes you feel cooler when it evaporates off the surface of your skin — or the giving-off of this liquid. If you exercise hard, you will sweat. The word sweat comes from the Old English word swætan, which means “perspire,” and “work hard.” Though sweat is the body's way of cooling itself, today it also means "to worry or be stressed out." If someone tells you not to sweat it, it means "don't worry." But if someone is "sweating" you, it means you are hassled, maybe being asked every five minutes, "Did you finish your work yet?"

Example Sentences

Azeez Akanni hopped on a yellow bus heading for the central business district on Lagos Island, beads of sweat rolling down his neck and arms.

From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026

“This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children.”

From Salon • Apr. 7, 2026

When doing these, my goal isn’t to break a sweat.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

That has taught him "not to sweat the small stuff".

From BBC • Mar. 22, 2026

Ma was limp on the bed, her eyes closed, neck shiny with sweat.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

Related Words

• glow
• swelter
• wilt