dwell
Americanverb (used without object)
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dwells,
present (3rd person singular)
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dwelt,
past participle, past
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dwelled,
past participle, past
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dwelling
present participle
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to live or stay as a permanent resident; reside.
-
to live or continue in a given condition or state.
to dwell in happiness.
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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.
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(of a moving tool or machine part) to be motionless for a certain interval during operation.
noun
verb
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formal to live as a permanent resident
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to live (in a specified state)
to dwell in poverty
noun
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a regular pause in the operation of a machine
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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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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dwellsimple
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dwellssimple
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have dwelledperfect
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have dweltperfect
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has dwelledperfect
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has dweltperfect
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am dwellingprogressive
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are dwellingprogressive
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is dwellingprogressive
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have been dwellingperfect progressive
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has been dwellingperfect progressive
Past
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dwelledsimple
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dweltsimple
-
had dwelledperfect
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had dweltperfect
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was dwellingprogressive
-
were dwellingprogressive
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had been dwellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dwell
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
Explanation
To dwell in a home is to live in it. To dwell on something — usually something bad, like a failed romance or terrible service in a restaurant — is to think or speak about it at great length. Dwell has been part of the English language for over 1,000 years. The definition of the word has evolved considerably since its first recorded use in the 9th century when Old English dwellan meant "lead astray" or "hinder." If you constantly dwell on the bad things in life, it could hinder you from seeing the good or lead you astray to the negative. If you keep complaining, your friends might tell you to stop dwelling on it or, if they're really annoyed, they'll say, "Get over it!"
Vocabulary lists containing dwell
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act II
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"The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It’s hard not to dwell on that sentiment, already knowing what and who Nelson would leave behind if disaster struck.
From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2026
Huang reserved his sharpest warning for governments that dwell on the technology's risks.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
Container dwell times at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach rose to their highest level in more than a year on surging imports.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
“Instinctually, maybe I do. I don’t know. I don’t question it. I don’t dwell on it.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
‘And they who dwell beyond the Sea would not receive it: for good or ill it belongs to Middle-earth; it is for us who still dwell here to deal with it.’
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Michele Zack’s updated history of Altadena dwells on the past, peeks into the future.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026
“The Rise of Silas Lapham,” about an honest but unworldly self-made entrepreneur among Boston nabobs, dwells in the nuances of etiquette and morals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
Curiously, the book also dwells little on Monroe’s own literary ambitions.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 25, 2026
He never dwells on errors, he just kicks on.
From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2026
Night was the child of Chaos and so was Erebus, which is the unfathomable depth where death dwells.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
His final campaign speech dwelled on renovations to Washington's Reflecting Pool, and he waited 26 minutes to mention the midterms.
From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026
Those who dwelled on the margins of society were the most vulnerable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
Vance’s most heated points about gender dwelled not on hormones but on LGBTQ+ issues.
From Slate ● Nov. 1, 2024
England fans dwelled on the agonising near misses in the knockout stages of major tournaments - Diego Maradona's handball in 1986, losses on penalties to Germany in 1990 and 1996.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2024
Ancestors and spirits dwelled everywhere, pleased to be within the city’s walls.
From "The Ugly One" by Leanne Statland Ellis
They spend a month in Samos, an island in the eastern Aegean, where Pythagoras dwelt in a cave.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Any single run of the experiment gives only a very rough indication of whether the photon dwelt in the atoms, but averaging millions of runs yields an accurate dwell time.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
He was considered one of the leading contenders for the 2024 National and was sent off at odds of 10-1 but dwelt at the start and unseated rider Brian Hayes at The Chair.
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2025
Although the globe's top financiers dwelt little on the conflict, speaking about topics such as artificial intelligence, the economic fallout of war combined with record debts as rates rise created a bleak backdrop.
From Reuters ● Oct. 24, 2023
One day they dwelt in Hades, the next in Olympus, always together.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
In its listing description, the dwelling, which sits on 0.9 acres, was described as being located on “one of the most coveted” lanes in its community, offering “8,000 square feet of carefully designed perfection.”
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026
“Given how broad-based price increases have been, the fading of dwelling cost pressures is no silver bullet in the RBA’s inflation fight, but it does take a bit of the edge off,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
Another prehistoric relative, Postosuchus, was a land dwelling hunter capable of moving on either two legs or all four.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026
The Malibu dwelling was located in Paradise Cove Mobile Home Park, which is considered to be one of the most famous and luxurious trailer parks in the country.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026
He would move to a dwelling, have a set of parents and perhaps an older sibling.
From "Son" by Lois Lowry
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
