swelter

1 of 2

verb

swel·​ter ˈswel-tər 

sweltered; sweltering ˈswel-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

swelter

2 of 2

noun

1

: a state of oppressive heat

2

: welter

3

: an excited or overwrought state of mind : sweat

in a swelter

Synonyms of swelter

Noun

• sweat
• panic
• huff
• fuss

Examples of swelter in a Sentence

Verb

We were sweltering in the summer heat.

Noun

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Rocky peaks rise sharply from the valley floor, spanning elevations and pockets of habitat that can swing from sweltering to snowing in a single day. —Joan Meiners, AZCentral.com, 6 Feb. 2026

For example, people in normally snowy Salt Lake City have barely seen a flake of snow and Phoenix is sweltering through its warmest winter since records began, according to AccuWeather meteorologist Paul Pastelok. —Doyle Rice, USA Today, 6 Feb. 2026

Noun

The summer swelter hasn’t arrived yet, which means an outdoor table right now feels less like a punishment and more like a genuine luxury. —Lauren Schuster, Miami Herald, 9 Mar. 2026

Just two weeks earlier, during the swelter of August, the regiment had gone aboard a ferry at the foot of Maiden Lane to cross the river to Brooklyn. —Literary Hub, 9 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

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

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

1851, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for swelter

• belter
• melter
• shelter
• skelter
• smelter
• spelter
• welter

Kids Definition

swelter

1 of 2 verb

swel·​ter ˈswel-tər 

sweltered; sweltering -t(ə-)riŋ 

1

: to suffer, sweat, or be faint from heat

2

: to overcome with heat

swelter

2 of 2 noun

: a state of great heat