swell
Americanverb (used without object)
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to grow in bulk, as by the absorption of moisture or the processes of growth.
- Antonyms:
- contract
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Pathology. to increase abnormally in size, as by inflation, distention, accumulation of fluids, or the like.
Her ankles swelled from standing.
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to rise in waves, as the sea.
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to well up, as a spring or as tears.
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to bulge out, as a sail or the middle of a cask.
- Synonyms:
- protrude
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to grow in amount, degree, force, etc.
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to increase gradually in volume or intensity, as sound.
The music swelled.
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to arise and grow within one, as a feeling or emotion.
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to become puffed up with pride.
verb (used with object)
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to cause to grow in bulk.
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to cause to increase gradually in loudness.
to swell a musical tone.
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to cause (a thing) to bulge out or be protuberant.
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to increase in amount, degree, force, etc.
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to affect with a strong, expansive emotion.
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to puff up with pride.
noun
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the act of swelling or the condition of being swollen.
-
inflation or distention.
- Synonyms:
- swelling
-
a protuberant part.
- Synonyms:
- bulge
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a wave, especially when long and unbroken, or a series of such waves.
- Synonyms:
- billow
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a gradually rising elevation of the land.
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an increase in amount, degree, force, etc.
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a gradual increase in loudness of sound.
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Music.
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a gradual increase (crescendo) followed by a gradual decrease (diminuendo) in loudness or force of musical sound.
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the sign (< >) for indicating this.
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a device, as in an organ, by which the loudness of tones may be varied.
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a swelling of emotion within one.
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Slang.
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a fashionably dressed person; dandy.
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a socially prominent person.
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verb
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to grow or cause to grow in size, esp as a result of internal pressure Compare contract contract
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to expand or cause to expand at a particular point or above the surrounding level; protrude
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to grow or cause to grow in size, amount, intensity, or degree
the party is swelling with new recruits
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to puff or be puffed up with pride or another emotion
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(intr) (of seas or lakes) to rise in waves
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(intr) to well up or overflow
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(tr) to make (a musical phrase) increase gradually in volume and then diminish
noun
-
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the undulating movement of the surface of the open sea
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a succession of waves or a single large wave
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-
a swelling or being swollen; expansion
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an increase in quantity or degree; inflation
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a bulge; protuberance
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a gentle hill
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informal a person very fashionably dressed
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informal a man of high social or political standing
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music a crescendo followed by an immediate diminuendo
-
Also called: swell organ. music
adjective
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informal stylish or grand
-
slang excellent; first-class
Other Word Forms
- reswell verb
- underswell verb (used without object)
- unswelled adjective
Etymology
Origin of swell
First recorded before 900; Middle English swellen (verb), Old English swellan; cognate with Dutch zwellen, German schwellen, Old Norse svella; akin to Gothic ufswalleins “pride”
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.
The valley has long, brutal summers with temperatures that swell to 120 degrees.
From Los Angeles Times
As the music swelled, the stage was washed in deep red.
From BBC
The volume of trade in services would meanwhile swell by 4.8 percent this year and 5.1 percent next year, WTO economists projected.
From Barron's
"My stomach became so swollen from chronic constipation and weight gain that when I looked in the mirror I was looking at someone I no longer recognised," Trish said.
From BBC
Returning to camp we could barely lift our swollen and aching legs.
From Literature
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.
