well

verb

welled; welling; wells

intransitive verb

1

: to rise to the surface and usually flow forth

tears welled from her eyes

2

: to rise like a flood of liquid

longing welled up in his breast

transitive verb

: to emit in a copious free flow

Examples of well in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Arredondo refused, staring at the man with tears welling up in his eyes. —Maria Aguilar Prieto, CNN Money, 4 June 2026

Tears welled in the eyes of those gathered in the sanctuary at the Midtown church on 2700 L Street. —Hannah Ruhoff, Sacbee.com, 31 May 2026

The Swiss watchmaker’s Royal Oaks range from roughly $20,000 for a basic steel reference to well over $300,000 for highly complicated iterations, putting them out of the reach of the masses. —Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 18 May 2026

Runoff from the previous day’s rain dashed through gutters beneath the stone walkway, and 10 yards offshore, a submerged artesian spring disturbed the surface sweet water welling in the salt bay. —Kevin West, Travel + Leisure, 8 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English wellen "to rise to the surface, bubble up, boil, seethe," probably in part verbal derivative of welle "spring of water, well entry 1," in part adaptation of the transitive verb wellen "to boil, curdle, melt (metal), refine," going back to Old English wellan, wyllan (< *wiellan) "to cause to boil," probably going back to Germanic *wall(j)an- (whence also Middle Dutch & Middle High German wellen "to make boil," Old Icelandic vella), causative from *wallan- "to well up, seethe, bubble," Class VII strong verb (whence Old English weallan "to boil, bubble up," Old Frisian walla, Old Saxon wallan "to blaze, boil up, well up," Old High German, "to boil up, well up"), a Germanic verbal base of uncertain origin, seen also with a zero-grade present without gemination in Gothic wulan "to seethe, spread (of an ulcer)"

Note: Both the Middle English Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary, third edition (OED), treat the two Middle English verbs wellen as simply the same verb; compare, however, J. de Vries (Nederlands Etymologisch Woordenboek), who treats Dutch wellen "to bubble up" (opborrelen) and wellen "to make boil, hammer white-hot metal together" (doen koken, gloeiende metalen aaneenhameren) in separate articles. The OED asserts that there is a range of dialect attestation of the verb (wællan, wellan, willan, wyllan), apparently on the basis of the few forms given in the citations (the imperatives wel, wyl and wæl in recipes): "In Old English the verb shows the expected reflex of the i-mutation of early Old English æ (West Germanic a) before ll, depending on dialect." But if this statement is based on a reconstruction of the immediate pre-Old English form and inflection of the verb, or its West Germanic predecessor, no such reconstruction is given. The etymology itself merely lists a group of supposed Germanic cognates, summarized by the statement "a causative formation < the same Germanic base as wall v.1 [i.e., Old English weallan]." — In addition to *wallan-, Germanic has an apparent e-grade strong verb *wellan-, seen in Old Saxon and Old High German biwellan "to stain, besmirch," Old Icelandic vella "to well over, boil," and probably Old English wollentēar "with streaming tears." Along with a series of nominal formations outside Germanic based on a zero-grade *u̯l̥H- (see note at well entry 1), the Germanic verbs would lead to an Indo-European base *u̯el(H)- "seethe, bubble." Some have seen this etymon as identical with a homonymous base meaning "to roll" (see welter entry 1), the view of H. Rix, et al. (Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2. Auflage, Wiesbaden, 2001). E. Seebold, on the other hand (Vergleichendes und etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen starken Verben, Mouton, 1970, p. 552) thinks the connection in sense is not so easily explained ("Wie diese Bedeutungsvielfalt zu erklären ist, bleibt unklar"; likewise Kluge-Seebold, 22. Auflage, s.v. wallen). Seebold points to the proximity of form and identical meaning of Lithuanian vérda, vìrti "to boil, seethe," Old Church Slavic vĭrěti.

First Known Use

12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Phrases Containing well

• alive and well
• all's well that ends well
• all very well
• all well and good
• artesian well
• as well
• as well as
• blend well
• bloody well
• bode well
• closely/well observed
• damn well
• dang well
• darn well
• do well
• do well by (someone)
• dry well
• fare-thee-well
• fare-you-well
• full well
• hail-fellow-well-met
• jolly well
• just as well
• know full well
• leave/let well (enough) alone
• leave well alone
• leave well enough alone
• let well enough alone
• mean well
• might/may as well
• ne'er-do-well
• oil well
• pretty well
• ruddy well
• speak well/poorly for
• very well
• wear well
• well-adjusted
• well-advised
• well-appointed
• well-balanced
• well-behaved
• well-being
• well-beloved
• well-bred
• well-built
• well-conditioned
• well-connected
• well deck
• well-defined
• well-developed
• well-disposed
• well-documented
• well-done
• well-dressed
• well-earned
• well-endowed
• well/far along in years
• well-favored
• well-fed
• well-fixed
• well-found
• well-founded
• well-groomed
• well-grounded
• well-handled
• well-heeled
• well-hung
• well, I never
• well-informed
• well-intentioned
• well-kept
• well-kept secret
• well-knit
• well-known
• well-liked
• well-made
• well-mannered
• well-meaning
• well-meant
• well-nigh
• well-off
• well-oiled
• well-ordered
• well over
• well-placed
• well-preserved
• well-read
• well rid of
• well-rounded
• well-run
• well-set
• well spent
• well-spoken
• well-taken
• well-thought-of
• well-thought-out
• well-timed
• well-to-do
• well-tried
• well-trodden
• well-turned
• well versed
• well-wisher
• well-worn
• whatever one damn/damned well pleases
• wishing well
• wish someone well

Rhymes for well

• bel
• belle
• cel
• cell
• dell
• dwell
• el
• ell
• fel
• fell
• gel
• gell

Kids Definition

well

1 of 5 noun

ˈwel 

1

: a source of supply

was a well of information

2

: a hole made in the earth to reach a natural deposit (as of water, oil, or gas)

3

: an open space extending up through floors of a structure (as for a staircase)

4

: something suggesting a well

well

2 of 5 verb

: to rise to the surface and flow out

well

3 of 5 adverb

better ˈbet-ər  ; best ˈbest 

1

: so as to be right : in a satisfactory way

did well on the test

2

: in a friendly or generous way

they always speak well of you

3

: in a skillful or expert manner

plays the trumpet well

4

: by as much as possible : completely

we are well aware of the problem

5

: with reason or courtesy

cannot well refuse

6

: in such a way as to be pleasing : as one would wish

everything has gone well this week

7

: without trouble

we could well afford it

8

: in a thorough manner

shake well before using

9

: in a familiar manner

knew them well

10

: by quite a lot

was well ahead

well over a million

well

4 of 5 interjection

1

—used to begin a conversation or continue one that was interrupted

2

—used to express surprise or doubt

well

5 of 5 adjective

1

: being in a satisfactory or good state

all is well

2

: free or recovered from ill health : healthy

he's not a well man

3

: fortunate sense 1

it was well that we left

Medical Definition

well

adjective

ˈwel 

1

: free or recovered from infirmity or disease : healthy

a well person

2

: completely cured or healed

the wound is nearly well