swelled; swelled or swollen
ˈswō-lən 
; swelling
; swelling
1
a
: to expand (as in size, volume, or numbers) gradually beyond a normal or original limit
the population swelled
b
: to become distended or puffed up
her ankle is badly swollen
c
: to form a bulge or rounded elevation
2
a
: to become filled with pride and arrogance
b
: to behave or speak in a pompous, blustering, or self-important manner
c
: to play the swell
3
: to become distended with emotion
1
: to affect with a powerful or expansive emotion
2
: to increase the size, number, or intensity of
swell the applicant pool
1
: a long often massive and crestless wave or succession of waves often continuing beyond or after its cause (such as a gale)
2
a
: the condition of being protuberant
b
: a rounded elevation
3
a
: the act or process of swelling
b(1)
: a gradual increase and decrease of the loudness of a musical sound
also
: a sign indicating a swell
(2)
: a device used in an organ for governing loudness
4
a
archaic
: an impressive, pompous, or fashionable air or display
b
: a person dressed in the height of fashion
c
: a person of high social position or outstanding competence
Synonyms
Verb
- accelerate
- accumulate
- appreciate
- balloon
- boom
- build up
- burgeon
- bourgeon
- climb
- enlarge
- escalate
- expand
- gain
- increase
- mount
- multiply
- mushroom
- proliferate
- rise
- roll up
- snowball
- spread
- wax
Noun
Adjective
- A-OK
- A1
- awesome
- bang-up
- banner
- beautiful
- blue-chip
- blue-ribbon
- boffo
- bonny [chiefly British]
- bonnie
- boss [slang]
- brag
- brave
- bully
- bumper
- capital
- choice
- classic
- cool [slang]
- corking
- crackerjack
- cracking
- dandy
- divine
- dope [slang]
- down [slang]
- dynamite
- excellent
- fab
- fabulous
- famous
- fantabulous [slang]
- fantastic
- fine
- first-class
- first-rate
- first-string
- five-star
- four-star
- frontline
- gangbusters
- gangbuster
- gilt-edged
- gilt-edge
- gone [slang]
- grand
- great
- groovy
- heavenly
- high-class
- hot
- hype [slang]
- immense
- jim-dandy
- keen
- lovely
- marvelous
- marvellous
- mean
- neat
- nifty
- noble
- number one
- No. 1
- numero uno
- out-of-sight [slang]
- par excellence
- peachy
- peachy keen
- phat [slang]
- prime
- primo [slang]
- prize
- prizewinning
- quality
- radical [slang]
- righteous [slang]
- sensational
- slick
- splendid
- stellar
- sterling
- superb
- superior
- superlative
- supernal
- terrific
- tip-top
- top
- top-notch
- top-of-the-line
- top-shelf
- topflight
- topping [chiefly British]
- unsurpassed
- wizard [chiefly British]
- wonderful
Examples of swell in a Sentence
Verb
Her broken ankle swelled badly.
Heavy rains swelled the river.
The population has swelled in recent years.
The economy is swelling at an annual rate of five percent.
Immigrants have swelled the population.
Noun
The storm has brought high winds and heavy swells along the coast.
the swell of a pregnant woman's belly
a swell in the population
the swell of the music
Adjective
That was a swell party.
what a swell time we had at the country club dance
Recent Examples on the Web
Margaret Farrell, SPIN, 3 Apr. 2024
Despite the rain, crowds wearing the green T-shirts of the country’s biggest union, The Association of State Workers, or ATE, swelled outside national ministries.
—Isabel Debre, Quartz, 3 Apr. 2024
This is caused by swelling in the sinuses that blocks the openings, prevents drainage and causes pressure to build up.
—Sara Moniuszko, CBS News, 1 Apr. 2024
The death toll has swelled to more than 32,000, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
—Hannah Allam, Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2024
But as their population has swelled to more than one million people, roughly 13 percent of Israel’s population — up from 40,000, or 5 percent, in 1948 — even many observant Jews who serve in the military have expressed resentment.
—Johnatan Reiss, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2024
That setback came via doctor stoppage at the end of the third round of that scrap after a Moreno blow caused Figueiredo’s right eye to swell shut.
—Trent Reinsmith, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Inadequate fluid intake can cause the supplement to swell and lead to choking, blockages, or stool impaction, as well as gas, bloating, abdominal pain, and constipation.
—Suzanne Finkel, Verywell Health, 25 Mar. 2024
The symptoms can include: Face or tongue swelling Fainting
Feeling lightheaded
Problems swallowing
Racing heart
Shortness of breath
Throat tightness
A Quick Review
In most cases, over-the-counter antihistamines can quickly clear up hives.
—Karen Pallarito, Health, 24 Mar. 2024
Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Apr. 2024
Waves batter patios and the homes at high tides, especially when mixed with strong swells.
—Laylan Connelly, Orange County Register, 25 Feb. 2024
High surf — with waves up to 20 feet — is also expected along the Central Coast with an 8- to 15-foot swell south of Point Conception, which will affect southwest-facing beaches on Tuesday.
—Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 17 Feb. 2024
In a 286-134 vote that came down to the wire, Democrats rallied to provide the support to overcome a furious swell of opposition by conservative Republicans.
—Catie Edmondson, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2024
There is a growing swell of concern around the world over data centers’ water and power consumption, especially as AI workloads increase rapidly.
—David Meyer, Fortune, 28 Feb. 2024
Carboni was among a swell of officers called to the family’s house the evening of March 22, 2023, amid reports that a mother and her two boys — ages 18 and 7 — were being held hostage by a neighbor who had recently been evicted from a nearby apartment.
—Jakob Rodgers, The Mercury News, 20 Feb. 2024
The swell is coming from an odd direction for this time of year: the southwest, more associated with summer waves.
—NBC News, 6 Feb. 2024
Both are still missing and a search and rescue mission continues in the Gulf of Aden where, according to officials who spoke to The Washington Post, powerful swells and exhaustion are more of a concern than hypothermia as commanders remain hopeful that the two SEALs will be found alive.
—Danielle Wallace, Fox News, 15 Jan. 2024
Stefanos Chen, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2024
Certificates of deposit, money market funds and other low-risk accounts have seen their yields swell to the delight of savers.
—The Arizona Republic, 7 Jan. 2024
Gibson does a swell job with the direct-address speeches lifted from the Elizabethan master.
—Peter Marks, Washington Post, 1 Nov. 2023
Well, things haven't been swell on the early-00s pop 'It' couple front, with Spears and former boyfriend/boybander Justin Timberlake.
—Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 25 Feb. 2024
Disney World is swell and those rings are the height of athletic bling, but for NFL athletes, the Super Bowl is also about a nice pay bonus.
—Chris Morris, Fortune, 12 Feb. 2024
Meanwhile, the upper-income wealthy Americans saw their ranks swell from 25% to 29%, according to Pew data analysis of government data.
—Jack Kelly, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
The site of contact will likely redden and swell like a bee sting.
—Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 19 Sep. 2023
Microsoft last month saw its market capitalization swell to more than $3 trillion, buoyed by the excitement around generative AI and its cloud platform Azure.
—Will Knight, WIRED, 7 Feb. 2024
Verb
The songs swell and retreat, like a forgiving tide, to make room for uncertainty to hug tolerance.
—Margaret Farrell, SPIN, 3 Apr. 2024
Despite the rain, crowds wearing the green T-shirts of the country’s biggest union, The Association of State Workers, or ATE, swelled outside national ministries.
—Isabel Debre, Quartz, 3 Apr. 2024
This is caused by swelling in the sinuses that blocks the openings, prevents drainage and causes pressure to build up.
—Sara Moniuszko, CBS News, 1 Apr. 2024
The death toll has swelled to more than 32,000, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
—Hannah Allam, Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2024
But as their population has swelled to more than one million people, roughly 13 percent of Israel’s population — up from 40,000, or 5 percent, in 1948 — even many observant Jews who serve in the military have expressed resentment.
—Johnatan Reiss, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2024
That setback came via doctor stoppage at the end of the third round of that scrap after a Moreno blow caused Figueiredo’s right eye to swell shut.
—Trent Reinsmith, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Inadequate fluid intake can cause the supplement to swell and lead to choking, blockages, or stool impaction, as well as gas, bloating, abdominal pain, and constipation.
—Suzanne Finkel, Verywell Health, 25 Mar. 2024
The symptoms can include: Face or tongue swelling Fainting
Feeling lightheaded
Problems swallowing
Racing heart
Shortness of breath
Throat tightness
A Quick Review
In most cases, over-the-counter antihistamines can quickly clear up hives.
—Karen Pallarito, Health, 24 Mar. 2024
Noun
The Alaskan storm generated a huge ocean swell that was glassier than a champagne flute when the clouds lifted on Saturday afternoon, mesmerizing surfers.
—Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Apr. 2024
Waves batter patios and the homes at high tides, especially when mixed with strong swells.
—Laylan Connelly, Orange County Register, 25 Feb. 2024
High surf — with waves up to 20 feet — is also expected along the Central Coast with an 8- to 15-foot swell south of Point Conception, which will affect southwest-facing beaches on Tuesday.
—Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 17 Feb. 2024
In a 286-134 vote that came down to the wire, Democrats rallied to provide the support to overcome a furious swell of opposition by conservative Republicans.
—Catie Edmondson, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2024
There is a growing swell of concern around the world over data centers’ water and power consumption, especially as AI workloads increase rapidly.
—David Meyer, Fortune, 28 Feb. 2024
Carboni was among a swell of officers called to the family’s house the evening of March 22, 2023, amid reports that a mother and her two boys — ages 18 and 7 — were being held hostage by a neighbor who had recently been evicted from a nearby apartment.
—Jakob Rodgers, The Mercury News, 20 Feb. 2024
The swell is coming from an odd direction for this time of year: the southwest, more associated with summer waves.
—NBC News, 6 Feb. 2024
Both are still missing and a search and rescue mission continues in the Gulf of Aden where, according to officials who spoke to The Washington Post, powerful swells and exhaustion are more of a concern than hypothermia as commanders remain hopeful that the two SEALs will be found alive.
—Danielle Wallace, Fox News, 15 Jan. 2024
Adjective
The need for public aid is clear at Grand Street Settlement, a nonprofit social services group in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn that has seen its food pantry lines swell to 2,800 people a month, up from 500 before the pandemic.
—Stefanos Chen, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2024
Certificates of deposit, money market funds and other low-risk accounts have seen their yields swell to the delight of savers.
—The Arizona Republic, 7 Jan. 2024
Gibson does a swell job with the direct-address speeches lifted from the Elizabethan master.
—Peter Marks, Washington Post, 1 Nov. 2023
Well, things haven't been swell on the early-00s pop 'It' couple front, with Spears and former boyfriend/boybander Justin Timberlake.
—Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 25 Feb. 2024
Disney World is swell and those rings are the height of athletic bling, but for NFL athletes, the Super Bowl is also about a nice pay bonus.
—Chris Morris, Fortune, 12 Feb. 2024
Meanwhile, the upper-income wealthy Americans saw their ranks swell from 25% to 29%, according to Pew data analysis of government data.
—Jack Kelly, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
The site of contact will likely redden and swell like a bee sting.
—Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 19 Sep. 2023
Microsoft last month saw its market capitalization swell to more than $3 trillion, buoyed by the excitement around generative AI and its cloud platform Azure.
—Will Knight, WIRED, 7 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'swell.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to swell
Dictionary Entries Near swell
Cite this Entry
“Swell.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/swell. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
swell
1 of 3 verb
swelled; swelled or swollen
ˈswō-lən
; swelling
; swelling
1
a
: to expand (as in size, volume, or numbers) gradually beyond a normal or original limit
rivers swollen by rain
the population swelled
b
: to become abnormally enlarged or puffed up
the sprained ankle swelled badly
c
: to form a bulge or lump
2
: to fill or become filled with pride
3
: to fill or become filled with emotion
his heart was swollen with jealousy
swell
2 of 3 noun1
a
: a rounded lump
b
: the condition of bulging
2
: a long rolling wave or series of waves in the open sea
3
: a gradual increase and decrease of the loudness of a musical sound
also
: a sign marking a swell
4
: a fashionably dressed person
swell
3 of 3 adjective
: very good : excellent
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share