swelter

play

verb swel·ter \ ˈswel-tər \

Definition of swelter

sweltered; sweltering play \-t(ə-)riŋ\

intransitive verb

1 :to suffer, sweat, or be faint from heat

2 :to become exceedingly hot

in summer, the place swelters

transitive verb

1 :to oppress with heat

2 archaic :exude

sweltered venom
—William Shakespeare

See swelter defined for English-language learners

See swelter defined for kids

Examples of swelter in a Sentence

We were sweltering in the summer heat.

Recent Examples of swelter from the Web

The National Weather Service says the Southland will continue to swelter well into next week, bringing triple digit temperatures to inland valleys along with elevated fire danger and the potential for power outages.

— javier panzar, latimes.com, "Southern California heat wave expected to linger through the weekend," 29 Aug. 2017
Fancy Farm usually is sweltering, with temperatures in the 90s and off-the-charts humidity.

— deborah yetter, The Courier-Journal, "Politicians will roast each other as St. Jerome parish roasts tons of pork for Fancy Farm," 3 Aug. 2017
Attendance figures reported on Baseball-Reference.com showed that an average of 27,931 fans bought tickets to each game during the team’s recent 10-game homestand despite sweltering heat and weather advisories.

— maria torres, kansascity, "Are you feeling it again? Royals’ surge in standings has rekindled fans’ interest," 26 July 2017
Residents of Missouri and adjacent portions of Illinois sweltered in triple-digit heat and excessively high humidity on Friday.

— tom skilling, chicagotribune.com, "Another hot, humid day in Chicago area, with storms possible," 21 July 2017
Game notes: After notching a series win over the Blue Jays at Comerica Park on Sunday's walk-off win in 11 innings, the Tigers travel to sweltering Kansas City for a four-game set against the Royals.

— kirkland crawford, Detroit Free Press, "How to watch tonight's Detroit Tigers-Kansas City Royals game," 16 July 2017
Meanwhile, residents of St. Louis sweltered in 96-degree heat.

— tom skilling, chicagotribune.com, "Summer weather due to return in coming days," 16 July 2017
On some afternoons here, when the sky is cloudless and the summer sun is sweltering, this is life at Kauffman Stadium.

— rustin dodd, kansascity, "Royals beat Rangers 4-3 on walk-off single in the sun," 16 July 2017
The slight cool-down comes after sweltering heat toppled records throughout Southern California during the weekend.

— veronica rocha, latimes.com, "Thunderstorms, high surf and muggy conditions in store for Southern California," 10 July 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of swelter

Middle English sweltren, frequentative of swelten to die, be overcome by heat, from Old English sweltan to die; akin to Goth swiltan to die

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

swelter

noun

Definition of swelter

1 :a state of oppressive heat

2 :welter

3 :an excited or overwrought state of mind :sweat

in a swelter

Examples of swelter in a Sentence

the set designer spent the entire week before opening night in a swelter

Recent Examples of swelter from the Web

In late May, mercury readings soared to 128.3 degrees in Pakistan, a swelter that coincided with Ramadan, when millions of Pakistanis forgo water and food from sunrise to sunset.

— rachel kyte, Time, "Air Conditioning Is a Lifesaver. It’s Also a Potential Disaster," 3 Aug. 2017
Those cities, and much of the Pacific Northwest, are in the third — and likely worst — day of a blistering heat wave that has slammed cities that usually escape the worst of the summer swelter.

— jen kirby, Daily Intelligencer, "Extreme Heat Wave Is Cooking the Pacific Northwest," 3 Aug. 2017
While the coastal communities get cooled by ocean breezes most days, many East County folks swelter in the summer heat.

— jamie gold, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Cooling trends for your home," 27 July 2017
No more running into the store for something and leaving your kid to swelter.

— dan sweeney, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Going to the polls in Miami-Dade," 25 July 2017
Today (Sunday): A return to the summer swelter is on the way.

— brian jackson, Washington Post, "D.C.-area forecast: Relatively nice today; heat and humidity build again this week," 16 July 2017
The study comes as much of the United States swelters through extended triple-digit heat.

— seth borenstein, The Christian Science Monitor, "Heat waves expected to increase, says study: Can adaptation outpace climate changes?," 20 June 2017
The study comes as much of the U.S. swelters through extended triple-digit heat.

— seth borenstein, chicagotribune.com, "Study shows deadly heat waves are becoming more frequent," 19 June 2017
Only a handful of motor vehicles are allowed on the island; transportation is mainly the domain of donkeys or men pushing wooden carts thorough the tropical swelter.

— National Geographic, "As the World Cuts Back on Coal, a Growing Appetite in Africa," 10 May 2017

First Known Use of swelter

1851

swelter Synonyms

Synonyms

dither, fluster, fuss, huff, lather, pother, stew, sweat, fret, swivet, tizzy, twitter

Related Words

bother, dudgeon, pique; alarm (also alarum), hand-wringing, panic; ado, agitation, delirium, distraction, furor, hysteria, uproar; nervous breakdown

SWELTER Defined for English Language Learners

swelter

play

verb

Definition of swelter for English Language Learners

: to be very hot and uncomfortable

SWELTER Defined for Kids

swelter

play

verb swel·ter \ ˈswel-tər \

Definition of swelter for Students

sweltered; sweltering

:to suffer, sweat, or be faint from heat

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First Known Use of swelter

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SWELTER Defined for English Language Learners

swelter

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