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:
Langton's scans showed swelling and bruising, results which meant he was allowed to leave hospital on Saturday night.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
It occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy joint tissue, causing pain, swelling, stiffness, and progressive damage.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026
Ex-smokers gain a slight increase in lung function weeks after quitting as swelling and inflammation settle down.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Providing a patient with additional vials of antivenom is dependent on several factors that include the swelling of the bite area, the patient’s pain level and blood work results, Vohra said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
She’s wearing compression socks to help with the recent swelling in her knee, and they are soaked, too, and so is her shirt and shorts and pack and even her shoes.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
Many infected rabbits display a strange form of myxomatosis, developing massive swellings on their eyes and ears.
From New York Times ● Jun. 20, 2022
Monkeypox is a viral infection that can cause mild flu-like symptoms including fever, headaches, swellings, back pain, aching muscles and a rash.
From BBC ● May 23, 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
Clubroot produces swellings on canola’s roots, choking them of nutrients and stunting growth of the plant’s valuable seeds, but the disease does not affect the quality of canola oil and meal.
From Reuters ● Feb. 22, 2018
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.
