swole

American  

[swohl] / swoʊl /

adjective

Slang.

1. (especially of a man) very muscular: He is showing off some pretty swole arms.

   If you’re looking to get swole, I can show you a great workout.

   He is showing off some pretty swole arms.

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verb

Dialect.

1. a past participle and simple past tense of swell.

   My jaw swole up and I couldn’t chew right for a week.

Etymology

Origin of swole

First recorded in 1995–2000 swole for def. 1

Compare meaning

How does swole compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• ripped vs. swole

Example Sentences

Cornerback Darius Slay playfully called Brown with his tinted visor “a swole Batman” and Smith “a skinny Batman” early in the season and the nicknames caught fire in Philly.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 26, 2023

Stallone’s characters were often easy to caricature, punchy and inarticulate, and a long string of swole sequels and critical flops didn’t help.

From New York Times • Nov. 10, 2022

From a distance, this current breed of curler may not appear strikingly swole.

From Washington Post • Feb. 16, 2022

Maybe you recall this diva Nicki Minaj churning up some noise back in September about me gettin' swole in a bad way, as an excuse to refuse The Met Gala's vaccination requirement.

From Salon • Dec. 31, 2021

I’d cry and have to get a cold washrag to lay over my eyes so they wouldn’t get swole up.

From "Girls Like Us" by Gail Giles