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:
Crucially, the negative value of the weakly measured dwell time cannot be explained by imagining that only the front of the photon’s pulse gets through, unlike the time inferred from the arrival time.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
Then again, he had a lot more time to dwell on asking his girlfriend than he had to prepare for playing, as he was immediately pressed into action on the Sunday of his NFL debut.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
While the former Real Madrid manager has been keen not to dwell on last season's shortcomings, his coaching at Cobham suggests he has been paying close attention to them.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
"Rattlesnakes occupy an important role in the ecosystems they dwell in and in recent years their populations have dropped significantly in many parts of the United States."
From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026
The star leaned down and gently pushed it to one side, letting her fingers dwell upon his cheek as she did so.
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
Still, the book doesn’t quite deliver on its promise; this “warts-and-all” look at the American past dwells, a bit predictably, on the warts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026
He never dwells on errors, he just kicks on.
From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2026
The deep-sea is still largely unexplored and biodiversity surveys of these habitats are vital to increase our understanding of the incredible marine life that dwells in the depths of our oceans.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2025
Bestselling “Prep” and “Romantic Comedy” author Curtis Sittenfeld dwells in the comically awkward.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 21, 2025
Unusually for a dragon, it dwells in valleys rather than mountains.
From "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling
What I really dwelled on was thinking about how to tell this story in a way that was approachable and entertaining for people.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 17, 2026
“The God who once dwelled among His people in this city still calls us in the words of Scripture,” the president said in a speech at Israel’s parliament in October.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 21, 2025
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
I’d never been someone who dwelled on the more demoralizing parts of being African American.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
He visited many lands, but mostly dwelt with the nymph Calypso on her island.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
Indeed, commentators seem to have dwelt on little else.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 3, 2026
Tiddy Mun was a bog spirit who dwelt in the waterholes and came out in the evenings when the mists rose, dressed in grey, with white hair and a long tangled beard.
From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2024
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
I rather dwelt on this part of the forecast, while our good ship made time, bound outward down the wind for the strange island of Seirenes.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
The Canal and River Trust says that, post-Covid, our waterways have increasingly become "places of dwelling".
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
If we were to make a precise measurement of whether the photon is dwelling in the atoms, at each instant of time, we would prevent the atoms from interacting with the photon.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
“The View” host Joy Behar has found a buyer for her longtime Hamptons residence—nearly two years after the elegant dwelling was first brought to the market.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
The home spans 1,836 square feet and is described in its listing as an “enchanting” dwelling that perfectly blends “privacy, character, and serene canyon living.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
“Just above is this world, the place of now, the dwelling of the plants, the people, and the fierce jaguar.”
From "The Ugly One" by Leanne Statland Ellis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
