51Թ

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sweat

[swet]

verb (used without object)

sweat, sweated, sweating. 
  1. to perspire, especially 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.



verb (used with object)

sweat, sweated, sweating. 
  1. to excrete (perspiration, moisture, etc.) through the pores of the skin.

  2. to exude in drops or small particles.

    The drying figs sweat tiny drops of moisture.

  3. to send forth or get rid of with or like perspiration (often followed by out oroff ).

  4. to wet or stain with perspiration.

  5. to cause (a person, a horse, etc.) to perspire.

  6. to cause to exude moisture, especially as a step in an industrial drying process.

    to sweat wood.

  7. to earn, produce, or obtain (a result, promotion, compliment, etc.) by hard work.

  8. to cause to lose (weight) as by perspiring or hard work.

    The hard week's work sweated five pounds off him.

  9. to cause, force, or bring pressure on (a person, an animal, etc.) to work hard.

  10. to employ (workers) at low wages, for long hours, or under other unfavorable conditions.

  11. to labor with meticulous care over.

    The manufacturer of this beautiful car has really sweated the details.

  12. Slang.

    1. to obtain or extort (money) from someone.

    2. to extort money from; fleece.

  13. Slang.to subject to severe questioning; give the third degree to.

  14. Metallurgy.

    1. to heat (an alloy) in order to remove a constituent melting at a lower temperature than the alloy as a whole.

    2. to heat (solder or the like) to melting.

    3. to join (metal objects) by heating and pressing together, usually with solder.

  15. to remove bits of metal from (gold coins) by shaking them against one another, as in a bag.

  16. to cause (tobacco or cocoa) to ferment.

noun

  1. the process of sweating or perspiring.

  2. that which is secreted from sweat glands; perspiration.

  3. a state or a period of sweating.

  4. hard work.

  5. Informal.a state of anxiety or impatience.

  6. a process of inducing sweating or perspiration, or of being sweated, as in medical treatment.

  7. moisture exuded from something or gathered on a surface.

  8. an exuding of moisture, as by a substance.

  9. an inducing of such exudation, as in some industrial process.

  10. a run given to a horse for exercise, as before a race.

  11. Informal.sweats, sweatpants, sweatshirts, sweat suits, or the like.

adjective

  1. Informal.

    1. (of clothes) made to be worn for exercise, sports, or other physical activity.

    2. made of the absorbent fabric used for such clothes.

      sweat dresses.

    3. of, for, or associated with such clothes.

      the sweat look in sportswear.

verb phrase

  1. Informal

    1. to await anxiously the outcome of; endure apprehensively.

      The accused sweated out the jury's deliberation.

    2. to work arduously at or toward.

      The director sweated out a camera angle with the cinematographer.

sweat

/ ɛ /

noun

  1. the secretion from the sweat glands, esp when profuse and visible, as during strenuous activity, from excessive heat, etc; commonly also called perspiration

  2. the act or process of secreting this fluid

  3. the act of inducing the exudation of moisture

  4. drops of moisture given forth or gathered on the surface of something

  5. informala state or condition of worry or eagerness (esp in the phrase in a sweat )

  6. slangdrudgery or hard labour

    mowing lawns is a real sweat!

  7. an exercise gallop given to a horse, esp on the day of a race

  8. slanga soldier, esp one who is old and experienced

  9. slang(interjection) an expression suggesting that something can be done without problems or difficulty

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to secrete (sweat) through the pores of the skin, esp profusely

  2. (tr) to make wet or stain with sweat

  3. to give forth or cause to give forth (moisture) in droplets

    a sweating cheese

    the maple sweats sap

  4. (intr) to collect and condense moisture on an outer surface

    a glass of beer sweating in the sun

  5. (intr) (of a liquid) to pass through a porous surface in droplets

  6. (of tobacco leaves, cut and dried hay, etc) to exude moisture and, sometimes, begin to ferment or to cause (tobacco leaves, etc) to exude moisture

  7. (tr) to heat (food, esp vegetables) slowly in butter in a tightly closed saucepan

  8. (tr) to join (pieces of metal) by pressing together and heating

  9. (tr) to heat (solder) until it melts

  10. (tr) to heat (a partially fused metal) to extract an easily fusible constituent

  11. to shake together (coins, esp gold coins) so as to remove particles for illegal use

  12. informalto suffer anxiety, impatience, or distress

  13. informalto overwork or be overworked

  14. informal(tr) to employ at very low wages and under bad conditions

  15. informal(tr) to extort, esp by torture

    to sweat information out of a captive

  16. informal(intr) to suffer punishment

    you'll sweat for this!

  17. informal

    1. to work very hard

    2. to be filled with anxiety or impatience

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

sweat

  1. The salty liquid given off by sweat glands in the skin of mammals. As sweat evaporates, the skin cools, causing a reduction in body heat.

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Other 51Թ Forms

  • sweatless adjective
  • nonsweating adjective
  • unsweating adjective
  • ˈɱ𲹳ٱ adjective
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of sweat1

First recorded before 900; 1970–75 sweat for def. 6; (verb) Middle English sweten, Old English ǣٲ “to sweat,” derivative of (noun); (noun) Middle English swet, sweet, influenced by the verb, cognate with Dutch zweet, German Schweiss, Old Norse sveiti; akin to Sanskrit é岹-, Latin ūǰ, Greek 󾱻ṓs
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of sweat1

Old English æٲ to sweat, from sweat; related to Old Saxon ŧ, Old Norse sveiti, Old High German sweiz, Latin ūǰ, Sanskrit svedas
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. no sweat, with no difficulty or problem.

  2. sweat blood,

    1. to be under a strain; work strenuously.

    2. to wait anxiously; worry.

      He was sweating blood while his friend was being questioned by the police.

  3. sweat bullets,

    1. to sweat profusely.

    2. to be apprehensive; worry.

  4. sweat it,

    1. to wait anxiously; endure the best way one can.

      There was no news of survivors, so all we could do was sweat it.

    2. to worry; be apprehensive.

      You'll do OK, so don't sweat it.

In addition to the idioms beginning with sweat, also see by the sweat of one's brow; in a cold sweat; no problem (sweat).
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Synonym Study

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

The air is warm, the wine is sweating through its glass, and the scent of ripe, fragrant tomatoes clings to your fingertips.

From

“I used to start sweating and shaking every time I went,” Bonfiglio explains.

From

But considering the difference in circumstances - England were losing heavily in Australia and winning by barely breaking a sweat against West Indies - we are still no clearer on whether that will change under pressure.

From

And then there was DOGE, the department he talked Trump into letting him have to slash at least a trillion dollars, which he promised to do without even breaking a sweat.

From

For some reason, Keeler invited his former high school coaches after all those days of sweat and tears in Sherman Oaks.

From

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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