- present participle of swell.
noun
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the act of expansion or inflation
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the state of being or becoming swollen
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a swollen or inflated part or area
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an abnormal enlargement of a bodily structure or part, esp as the result of injury
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of swelling
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English; swell + -ing 1
Vocabulary lists containing swelling
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:
When I finally saw a doctor, he diagnosed a burst appendix and peritonitis—the swelling of thin tissue that lines the belly wall.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the joints, leading to pain, swelling, and stiffness.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 27, 2026
The rain has fallen almost continually since Thursday afternoon, flooding roads and swelling Bangkok's canals, sending water into many homes and restaurants alongside them, AFP reporters saw.
From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026
The fear is dialled up an extra notch by Byron Bullock's rich sound design, with the music swelling almost unbearably intensely when spluttering nasties stumbled closer.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
Grinning but serious, Jay checks DeShon’s swelling, his range of motion.
From "Paradise on Fire" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
What stood out in the Johns Hopkins study was the presence of much smaller, repeating swellings in axons examined under conditions intended to preserve their normal structure.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
The two-toed sloth went under the knife after keepers noticed swellings on the sides of its face, with investigations showing two root abscesses.
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2025
Many infected rabbits display a strange form of myxomatosis, developing massive swellings on their eyes and ears.
From New York Times ● Jun. 20, 2022
“One female refugee got swellings on her arms and legs and is unable to stand or walk, while one man, maybe because they’ve been at sea for too long, is a bit malnourished,” Nurul said.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 6, 2022
Each was squirming slightly and had a number of large, shiny swellings upon it, which appeared to be full of liquid.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
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.
