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:
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks tissue around the joints, causing pain, swelling, stiffness, and potentially long-term damage.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
Mulberry also pointed to Dell’s own recent earnings report, which showed its AI server business reaching $60.9 billion in orders and the company’s backlog swelling to $95 billion.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026
Residents first noticed the swelling in her face about a year ago, and it worsened over time to the point where she struggled to see properly, eat or drink.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
In recent years, prices for these keys have shot up thanks to wealthy buyers—seemingly undeterred by the threat of erosion—clamoring for privacy and convenience amid the island’s swelling popularity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
Now graceful whorls of green leaves poked through the damp soil, and the stalks had begun to rise, with only a tender green swelling where the flower buds would very soon be.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
The dimensions of both the swellings and their narrow connecting segments mattered.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
"Hereditary angioedema can cause patients severe swellings and intense pain, which can be life-threatening as well as restricting normal activities, such as going to work or school," he said.
From BBC ● Feb. 1, 2024
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 twinge, each murmur of slight pain, ripples of sloughed-off matter, swellings and diminishings of tissue, the droolings of the flesh, these are signs, these are the things I need to know about.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
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.
