- (v.i.) To grow larger; to dilate or extend the exterior surface or dimensions, by matter added within or by expansion of the inclosed substance; as, the legs swell in dropsy; a bruised part swells; a bladder swells by inflation.
- (v.i.) To increase in size or extent by any addition; to increase in volume or force; as, a river swells, and overflows its banks; sounds swell or diminish.
- (v.i.) To protuberate; to bulge out; as, a cask swells in the middle.
- (v.i.) To be turgid, bombastic or extravagant; as, swelling words; a swelling style.
- (v.t.) To raise to arrogance; to puff up; to inflate; as, to be swelled with pride or haughtiness.
- (n.) A showy, dashing person; a dandy.
- (n.) A gradual increase and decrease of the volume of sound; the crescendo and diminuendo combined; -- generally indicated by the sign.
- (n.) Increase in height; elevation; rise.
- (v.i.) To be inflated; to belly; as, the sails swell.
- (v.i.) To act in a pompous, ostentatious or arrogant manner; to strut; to look big.
- (v.i.) To grow upon the view; to become larger; to expand.
- (n.) The act of swelling.
- (n.) Increase of power in style or of rhetorical force.
- (n.) Increase or augmentation in bulk; protuberance.
- (v.i.) To be puffed up or bloated; as, to swell with pride.
- (v.i.) To be elated; to rise arrogantly.
- (v.t.) To augment gradually in force or loudness, as the sound of a note.
- (n.) A gradual ascent or rounded elevation, of land; as, an extensive plain abounding with little swells.
- (n.) A wave or billow; especially, a succession of large waves; the roll of the sea after a storm; as, a heavy swell sets into the harbor.
- (n.) Gradual increase.
- (n.) Increase of force, intensity or volume of sound.
- (v.t.) To aggravate; to heighten.
- (a.) Having the characteristics of a person of rank and importance; showy; dandified; distinguished; as, a swell person; a swell neighborhood.
- (v.t.) To increase the size, bulk or dimensions of; to cause to rise, dilate or increase; as, rains and dissolving snow swell the rivers in spring; immigration swells the population.
- (v.i.) To become larger in amount; as, many little debts added, swell to a great amount.
- (v.i.) To rise or be driven into waves or billows; to heave; as, in tempest, the ocean swells into waves.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). swell. Retrieved September 24, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/swell/definitions/2069379 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "swell" http://smartdefine.org/swell/definitions/2069379 (accessed September 24, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, swell, Smart Define, viewed 24 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/swell/definitions/2069379>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "swell" 28 May 2011. Web. 24 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/swell/definitions/2069379> |