I. ˈswel verb
( swelled ; swelled -ld ; or swol·len ˈswōlən also -ln ; swelling ; swells )
Etymology: Middle English swellen, from Old English swellan; akin to Old Saxon & Old High German swellan to swell, Old Norse svella, Gothic uf swalleins inflation, conceit
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to increase in volume : grow larger or bulkier : expand by internal pressure or growth : fill out : dilate
if I walked a hundred yards my ankles swelled up — Sydney (Austral.) Bulletin
eight of my berries quickly disappeared, and the cheeks of the little vagabond swelled — John Burroughs
mucilaginous materials which swell when water is added — Morris Fishbein
b. : to rise above or extend beyond a level, surface, or border
up from the horizon swelled a supernatural light — O.E.Rölvaag
it is in this length of the river that it swells to gigantic size — Tom Marvel
c. : to have a form that curves outward or upward : distend , bulge , protrude
a comfortable paunch swelled out beneath the buttons of his dinner jacket — Hamilton Basso
the green slope swelled upward to the pear orchard — Ellen Glasgow
2.
a. : to become filled with pride and arrogance : become puffed up
swells with pride and importance as he struts up and down — Martin Turnell
b. : to behave or speak in a pompous, blustering, self-important manner
the diver crew will swell around on the boat talking about different jobs they have been on — Richard Bissell
c. : to play the swell : behave as a man of fashion
looked down on so much sheer swelling around — Newsweek
3.
a. : to develop and grow in the consciousness as if seeking an outlet
the unseen grief that swells with silence in the tortured soul — Shakespeare
b. : to become distended with emotion : become affected with a powerful feeling
her heart swelled with a suffocating sense of resentment — Anne D. Sedgwick
4.
a. : to become augmented in force, intensity, degree, numbers, or value
job opportunities swelled hugely in government — Daniel Bell
the credit union's capital swelled to $110,000 — Frank Hamilton
b. : to become gradually louder : rise to a peak of loudness or sonority
the cries swelled and died away — John Galsworthy
the organ swelled to a climax
transitive verb
1. : to affect with a powerful or expansive emotion : inflate
it swells me to joyful madness — Walt Whitman
he is swollen with pride
2.
a. : to increase the volume or size of : cause to fill out or expand
warm summer water … will quickly swell the planks and so close the seams — C.D.Lane
a hide … is put through a liming process that swells it and loosens the hair — American Guide Series: Pennsylvania
b. : to cause (as a body of water) to become higher, wider, or more turbulent
rivers swollen by rain
ten thousand springs and creeks and a dozen lesser rivers run … to swell the Sacramento — Julian Dana
another little drop to swell the flood of misery — Nevil Shute
3.
a. : to increase in quantity, value, intensity, or degree : augment
some large federal installation or project greatly swelled the school population — N.Y.Times
nobles, landed gentry, merchants … swelled the demand for country houses — Bernard Smith
b. : to augment gradually in loudness (as a musical tone)
the pealing anthem swells the note of praise — Thomas Gray
Synonyms: see expand
II. noun
( -s )
1.
a. : the condition of being swollen : bulge , protuberance
this causes too much swell in the back of the book — Laurence Town
a green bodice which fitted so snugly that the swell of her breasts was accentuated — T.B.Costain
b.
(1) : a rounded elevation or hill ; especially : a long rounded ridge on a sea floor
the mid-Atlantic swell
(2) : a tract of rising ground
(3) : a very broad anticlinal structure
c. : entasis
d. : a local enlargement or thickening in a vein or ore deposit
e. : flipper 2d
2.
a. : a long relatively low wave or an unbroken series of such waves
b. : a slow rhythmic heaving or rolling action or process
the thing rolls on its antique springs with a slow, disquieting swell — Mollie Panter-Downes
that sustained impressiveness, that booming swell , which becomes so intolerable — F.R.Leavis
3.
a. : the act, action, or process of swelling : an increase in volume, size, force, or intensity
a swell in population
there is little dramatic swell into the tragic power that the end of the story demands — Edgar Johnson
b.
(1) : a gradual increase and decrease of the loudness or volume of a musical sound ; also : a sign <> indicating a swell
(2) : a device used in a harpsichord or pipe or reed organ for governing the loudness of tones by opening or closing the cover or set of louvers over a box or chamber enclosing the sounding strings, vibrators, or pipes
(3) : swell box
(4) : swell organ
(5) : swell pedal
4.
a. archaic : an impressive, pompous, or fashionable air or display : dash
a new necktie, nice shirts — you can imagine I cut quite a swell — Walt Whitman
b. : a person dressed in the height of fashion : fashion plate
sketched himself as a … swell , in a top hat, a white silk scarf, and a chesterfield — Janet Flanner
see quite a young swell come out in the latest fashion — Patricia M. Johnson
c. : a person of high social position : nob
a tony street where all the swells lived — J.T.Farrell
d. : a specialist or person of outstanding achievement in a particular field : expert , master
a real swell on birds — H.J.Laski
an agreeable melodist and a terrific swell at orchestration — Arnold Bennett
5. : a small lever connected with the shuttle protector in the shuttle box of a loom
III. adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: swell (II) (person dressed in fashion)
1. : smartly dressed or turned out : stylish
I am too shabby … only swell people go to the park — Oscar Wilde
: socially prominent : distinguished
had a lot of swell social connections — Wilson Collison
2. : suitable for or characteristic of swells : fashionable , tip-top
staying at the swellest hotel in town
3. : excellent , great , wonderful — used as a generalized term of enthusiasm or approval
makes a swell impression and is hired — W.H.Whyte
she was a really swell girl — W.F.Jenkins
it's a miracle … I feel perfectly swell — W.S.Maugham