welt

American  

[welt] / wɛlt /

noun

• welts
  plural

1. a ridge or wale on the surface of the body, as from a blow of a stick or whip.

2. a blow producing such a ridge or wale.

3. Shoemaking.

   1. a strip, as of leather, set in between the outsole of a shoe and the edges of its insole and upper, through which these parts are joined by stitching or stapling.

   2. a strip, usually of leather, that ornaments a shoe.

4. a strengthening or ornamental finish along a seam, the edge of a garment, etc.

5. a seam in which one edge is cut close to the stitching line and covered by the other edge, which is stitched over it.

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verb (used with object)

• welts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• welted,
  past participle,  past
• welting
  present participle

1. to beat soundly, as with a stick or whip.

2. to furnish or supply (a shoe or garment) with a welt or welts; sew a welt on to.

verb (used without object)

• welts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• welted,
  past participle,  past
• welting
  present participle

1. to be marked with or develop welts.

welt British  

/ wɛlt /

noun

1. a raised or strengthened seam or edge, sewn in or on a knitted garment

2. another word for weal 1

3. (in shoemaking) a strip of leather, etc, put in between the outer sole and the inner sole and upper

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verb

1. to put a welt in (a garment, etc)

2. to beat or flog soundly

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unwelted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• welts
  plural

Participles

• welting
  present
• welted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• welt
  simple
• welts
  simple
• have welted
  perfect
• has welted
  perfect
• am welting
  progressive
• are welting
  progressive
• is welting
  progressive
• have been welting
  perfect progressive
• has been welting
  perfect progressive

Past

• welted
  simple
• had welted
  perfect
• was welting
  progressive
• were welting
  progressive
• had been welting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will welt
  simple
• will have welted
  perfect
• will be welting
  progressive
• will have been welting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of welt

1375–1425; late Middle English welte, walt shoemaker's welt, Old English wælt (thigh) sinew

Explanation

If someone hits you hard with a thin stick, your skin might rise up in a welt. Ouch. A welt is a swollen bruise. The extra bit of stitching around the pocket of your jeans can also be called a welt, as can the stitching that holds your shoe to its sole. In these cases, as well as in the case of the mark on the skin, a welt is a rising where things meet — either where a blow meets the body or where two types of fabric meet each other.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

welt welts welted welting

Donovan seemed to use downstairs as his target with Crocker bringing the uppercut into play but he would find himself with a huge welt under the left eye by the end of the fourth.

From BBC ● Mar. 1, 2025

Among Germany’s other greatest portmanteau exports are weltschmerz, a combination of welt for “world” and schmerz for “pain,” meaning a “sensation of melancholy and world-weariness.”

From Slate ● Feb. 25, 2025

There was also the time Clyde woke me up by nipping my chin hard enough to leave a welt because I had not served his breakfast quickly enough.

From Salon ● Dec. 6, 2024

On a sunny late-January day, Laura Topete visited her son at the Northridge home and found him with a bright red welt in the middle of his forehead.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2024

She knelt and pushed down her sock to reveal a fat, red welt ringing it.

From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs

But it’s not only annoying pink welts that Faraji’s team is concerned about.

From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026

Gao suffers from chronic lumbar spine disease, arthritis, eye problems and chronic urticaria – a skin condition that causes itchy red welts.

From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2026

Males don’t bite, so the releases won’t lead to more inflamed welts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2024

When I danced in "The Waltz of the Flowers," my costume included a high collar of wire-stiffened petals around my neck, which left welts.

From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2022

So is redness and swelling, which could explain why her red welts didn’t go away despite all the Benadryl she drank.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

Instead he just welted it straight down Coady’s pipe.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 4, 2021

He also found violet tendrils of the welted thistle, native to Europe and Asia.

From New York Times ● Mar. 20, 2021

These are the type of welted leather boots that can last decades if treated properly, and they’re priced accordingly.

From Slate ● Dec. 20, 2018

By contrast the men's market has benefitted from higher-priced items such as Goodyear welted shoes which enjoy a healthy export trade to Europe, Asia and US.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2017

I do not think I could have watched them cut, but 1 watched the wound closed into a high welted ridge with quick skilful-looking stitches like a cobbler's, and was glad.

From "A Farewell To Arms" by Ernest Hemingway

Harnage stands alone on a darkened stage, amid a forest of ropes — soft sculptures made of cotton welting — that dropped like curtains.

From New York Times ● Nov. 4, 2022

EST 14:00 71 min A good move involving Lukaku and Lennon ends with Azpilicueta welting the ball clear from inside his own six-yard box.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 12, 2016

Hang on, umpire Steve Davis is looking towards the horizon - and just like that it's welting it down.

From BBC ● Jan. 14, 2010

Examples: > In Liverpool, dock-wallopers practice a custom called "welting"; half of an eight-man crew works while the other half loafs, and at intervals they change roles.

From Time Magazine Archive

He had known too many Marine wives and children who had come to their front door and found dour messengers, their faces carved from the ices of duty, standing with tragic news welting their tongues.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

Related Words

• bruise
• contusion
• scar
• stripe