swelter
verb (used without object)
to suffer from oppressive heat.
were sweltering
-
past progressiveof swelter.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
More than 165 million people were sweltering under record temperatures along the US East Coast and Midwest.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
Several floors of the 14-floor building were sweltering over the summer, as residents waited for the AC to turn on.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 13, 2022
Some of those same countries were sweltering again this weekend.
From Scientific American ● Jul. 18, 2022
The summers were sweltering hot and spent outside, in backyards, dodging wasps and playing beneath the rain of sprinklers, or inside, drying off in refrigerated air, complaining of boredom.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2012
The mule-train with our tents and baggage passed us in the valley while we were sweltering under the hawthorns.
From Out-of-Doors in the Holy Land Impressions of Travel in Body and Spirit by Henry Van Dyke
