sweat out

British  

verb

1. to cure or lessen the effects of (a cold, respiratory infection, etc) by sweating

2. informal to endure (hardships) for a time (often in the phrase sweat it out )

3. informal to work extremely hard

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sweat out Idioms  

1. Endure or await something anxiously, as in He sweated out that last final exam, or I don't know if I made the team—I'm still sweating it out. This idiom, often expanded to sweat it out, was first recorded in 1876.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sweat out

So they were forced to sweat out the Italy-Mexico game on Wednesday, where another Italian upset allowed them to back into the quarterfinals.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2026

Some founders break only to exercise at Barry’s boot camp or sweat out toxins at a bathhouse in the city, like Archimedes Banya, where they can chat about future funding rounds with peers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2025

Contestants were forced to weigh in shirtless — every natural curve, roll and fold beamed out to millions of American television sets — often after enduring eight hours of cardio to sweat out water weight.

From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2023

But they had to sweat out the final seconds after Houston scored to make it 21-14, then was threatening to score again before the Sea Dragons made a potential game-saving interception with five seconds left.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 24, 2023

His detonator was lifted and remained poised while Donovan watched and cursed and blinked the sweat out of his eye.

From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov

Related Words

• annoy
• bother
• depress
• disturb
• fret
• irritate
• perturb
• plague
• trouble
• try
• unsettle
• upset