swell.
To become larger, fuller, or rounder, or expand in size or shape, usually as a result of pressure from within.
Meaning & usage
To become larger, fuller, or rounder, or expand in size or shape, usually as a result of pressure from within.
My ankles had swelled in the heat.
To cause to become bigger.
Rains and dissolving snow swell the rivers in spring.
To grow gradually in force or loudness.
The organ music swelled.
To cause to grow gradually in force or loudness.
To raise to arrogance; to puff up; to inflate.
to be swelled with pride or haughtiness
To be raised to arrogance.
To be elated; to rise arrogantly.
To be turgid, bombastic, or extravagant.
swelling words a swelling style
To protuberate; to bulge out.
A cask swells in the middle.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English swellen, from Old English swellan (“to swell”), from Proto-West Germanic *swellan, from Proto-Germanic *swellaną (“to swell”), of unknown origin. Cognate with Saterland Frisian swälle (“to swell”), West Frisian swolle (“to swell”), Dutch zwellen (“to swell”), Low German swellen (“to swell”), German schwellen (“to swell”), Swedish svälla (“to swell”), Icelandic svella. The adjective may derive from the noun.
The act of swelling; increase in size.
A bulge or protuberance.
Increase of power in style, or of rhetorical force.
A long series of ocean waves, generally produced by wind, and lasting after the wind has ceased.
the heave of a heavy ocean swell
A gradual crescendo followed by diminuendo.
A device for controlling the volume of a pipe organ.
A division in a pipe organ, usually the largest enclosed division.
A hillock or similar raised area of terrain.
An upward protrusion of strata from whose central region the beds dip quaquaversally at a low angle.
A person who is stylish, fancy, or elegant.
A person of high social standing; an important person.
The front brow of a saddle bow, connected in the tree by the two saddle bars to the cantle on the other end.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English swelle, from the verb swellen (modern swell).
Fashionable, like a swell or dandy.
Excellent.
Where this word comes from
From the noun "swell" (a person dressed in an elegant manner).
Very well.
Where this word comes from
From the noun "swell" (a person dressed in an elegant manner).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.