dwell

verb

\ ˈdwel

dwelled\ ˈdweld ,

ˈdwelt \ or dwelt\ ˈdwelt

\; dwelling

Definition of dwell

intransitive verb

1 : to remain for a time dwell in the hallway

2a : to live as a resident the town in which he dwelled for eight years the dwelling place of the gods

b : exist, lie where the heart of the matter dwells

3a : to keep the attention directed —used with on or upon tried not to dwell on my fears

b : to speak or write insistently —used with on or upon reporters dwelling on the recent scandal

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Examples of dwell in a Sentence

a cave where bats dwell dwelling with a farm family as an exchange student in France

Recent Examples on the Web

Trump has moderated his language somewhat since taking office, but has continued to dwell on the issue, even as many NATO members have agreed to up their spending. — Jonathan Lemire And Jill Colvin, chicagotribune.com, "In combative start to NATO visit, Trump claims Germany 'totally controlled' by Russia," 11 July 2018 America’s particular way of celebrating our national figures has always been to dwell on their imperfections, to avoid king making. — Mark Swed, latimes.com, "Before ‘Hamilton,’ 100 years of American music theater and how it’s told the story of who we are," 29 June 2018 Having to dwell inside another human’s shoes for a good long stretch would be a solid first step to his understanding how small one life, his life, is and the compassion required to be a public servant. — New York Times, "Samantha Hunt: By the Book," 21 June 2018 But there’s no time for general manager Dayton Moore and team executives to dwell on what the organization believes was a successful draft. — Maria Torres, kansascity, "Dayton Moore on the Royals’ path after the draft and heading into trade season," 7 June 2018 That meeting is expected to dwell heavily on North Korea. — Carl Prine, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Defense secretary touches down in Singapore for key talks," 31 May 2018 But to dwell on that part of his career is like talking about how great a high school basketball player LeBron James was in Akron, Ohio. — Lawrence Toppman, charlotteobserver, "Richard Thomas (yes, that one) comes to Charlotte in ‘Humans’ form | Charlotte Observer," 30 Apr. 2018 There's not much reason to dwell on the goings on Friday. — Joe Vardon, cleveland.com, "LeBron James throws 'no shade' on former Cavaliers; Cedi Osman shows new teammates 'how we play'," 10 Feb. 2018 Sansevierias like to dwell under the canopies of trees amid grasses and shrubs in woodlands of varying density. — Maureen Gilmer, idahostatesman, "Sansevieria is a perfect house plant," 24 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dwell.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.