— sweatless , adj.
/swet/ , v. , sweat or sweated, sweating , n. , adj.
v.i.
1. to perspire, esp. freely or profusely.
2. to exude moisture, as green plants piled in a heap or cheese.
3. to gather moisture from the surrounding air by condensation.
4. (of moisture or liquid) to ooze or be exuded.
5. Informal. to work hard.
6. Informal. to experience distress, as from anxiety.
7. (of tobacco) to ferment.
v.t.
8. to excrete (perspiration, moisture, etc.) through the pores of the skin.
9. to exude in drops or small particles: The drying figs sweat tiny drops of moisture.
10. to send forth or get rid of with or like perspiration (often fol. by out or off ).
11. to wet or stain with perspiration.
12. to cause (a person, a horse, etc.) to perspire.
13. to cause to exude moisture, esp. as a step in an industrial drying process: to sweat wood.
14. to earn, produce, or obtain (a result, promotion, compliment, etc.) by hard work.
15. to cause to lose (weight) as by perspiring or hard work: The hard week's work sweated five pounds off him.
16. to cause, force, or bring pressure on (a person, an animal, etc.) to work hard.
17. to employ (workers) at low wages, for long hours, or under other unfavorable conditions.
18. to labor with meticulous care over: The manufacturer of this beautiful car has really sweated the details.
19. Slang.
a. to obtain or extort (money) from someone.
b. to extort money from; fleece.
20. Slang. to subject to severe questioning; give the third degree to.
21. Metall.
a. to heat (an alloy) in order to remove a constituent melting at a lower temperature than the alloy as a whole.
b. to heat (solder or the like) to melting.
c. to join (metal objects) by heating and pressing together, usually with solder.
22. to remove bits of metal from (gold coins) by shaking them against one another, as in a bag. Cf. clip 1 (def. 4).
23. to cause (tobacco or cocoa) to ferment.
24. no sweat , Informal. with no difficulty or problem.
25. sweat blood , Informal.
a. to be under a strain; work strenuously.
b. to wait anxiously; worry: He was sweating blood while his friend was being questioned by the police.
26. sweat bullets , Informal.
a. to sweat profusely.
b. to be apprehensive; worry.
27. sweat it , Informal.
a. to wait anxiously; endure the best way one can: There was no news of survivors, so all we could do was sweat it.
b. to worry; be apprehensive: You'll do OK, so don't sweat it.
28. sweat out , Informal.
a. to await anxiously the outcome of; endure apprehensively: The accused sweated out the jury's deliberation.
b. to work arduously at or toward: The director sweated out a camera angle with the cinematographer.
n.
29. the process of sweating or perspiring.
30. that which is secreted from sweat glands; perspiration.
31. a state or a period of sweating.
32. hard work.
33. Informal. a state of anxiety or impatience.
34. a process of inducing sweating or perspiration, or of being sweated, as in medical treatment.
35. moisture exuded from something or gathered on a surface.
36. an exuding of moisture, as by a substance.
37. an inducing of such exudation, as in some industrial process.
38. a run given to a horse for exercise, as before a race.
39. sweats , Informal. sweatpants, sweatshirts, sweat suits, or the like.
adj.
40. Informal.
a. (of clothes) made to be worn for exercise, sports, or other physical activity.
b. made of the absorbent fabric used for such clothes: sweat dresses.
c. of, for, or associated with such clothes: the sweat look in sportswear.
[ bef. 900; 1970-75 for def. 6; (v.) ME sweten, OE swaetan to sweat, deriv. of swat (n.) ( > obs. E swote ); (n.) ME, alter. of swote, influenced by the v.; c. D zweet, G Schweiss, ON sveiti, Skt svedas; akin to L sudor, Gk hidrós ]
Syn. 29. See perspiration .