sweat

SWET/swɛt/

25 meanings of sweat

1
noununcountable
The salty liquid that comes out of your skin when you are hot or exercise hard.
It works like splashing water on something hot to cool it down.
Sweat ran down his face during the long race.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead in the hot kitchen.
Similarperspiration
Note
2
verbintransitive
To lose salty liquid through your skin when you are hot or work hard.
I sweat a lot when I play soccer.
He was sweating in the hot sun all afternoon.
Similarperspire
Note
3
verbcolloquialintransitive
To feel worried or nervous about something that might happen.
Don't sweat. We still have plenty of time to get there.
She sweated all night before the spelling contest.
Similarworry, fret
Oppositerelax
4
verbcolloquialtransitive
To worry about something, such as a problem or a deadline.
Don't sweat the small mistakes. Just keep practicing.
She sweated every question on the application for days.
Note
5
nounfigurativelyuncountable
Hard work that takes a lot of effort and energy.
It took years of sweat to build this little shop.
Their beautiful garden is the result of real sweat, not luck.
Similartoil, labor, effort, exertion
Note
6
verbcolloquialintransitive
To work very hard, often for a long time.
You really have to sweat to learn a new language.
The whole team sweated all weekend to finish the project.
Similarslog, slave
Oppositeidle, laze, loaf
Note
7
noununcountable
The state of having sweat on your skin, often because of heat, exercise, or sickness.
He woke up in a sweat after the bad dream.
The hot, crowded room soon had everyone in a sweat.
Similarperspiration
Note
8
verbintransitive
To become covered with small drops of water from the damp air.
The glass of cold juice started to sweat in the warm kitchen.
The bathroom mirror sweats when someone takes a hot shower.
9
verbslangtransitive
To put pressure on someone and make them feel stressed.
Don't sweat your brother about the game; he already feels bad.
Stop sweating me about my homework. I'll finish it tonight.
Similarhassle, pressure, hound, badger, pester
Note
10
verbcolloquialtransitive
To force people to work too hard or pay too much, in an unfair way.
The boss sweated his workers with long hours and low pay.
Some owners sweat their renters for every extra dollar.
Similarbleed
Note

11
verbtransitive or intransitive
To cook food slowly in a little oil over low heat so it gets soft but not brown.
Sweat the onions in butter until they are soft.
Let the vegetables sweat for a few minutes before you add the rice.
Similarsoften
Note
12
verbintransitive
To give off small drops of water or become damp.
Cheese can sweat if you leave it out of the fridge.
The fresh bread sweated inside the plastic bag.
Similarooze, weep, seep
13
verbtransitive
To slowly give off drops of a liquid or other substance.
Pine trees sweat sticky sap in hot weather.
The wooden barrel sweated dark syrup through its cracks.
Similarexude, ooze, leak
Oppositeabsorb
Note
14
nounfigurativelyuncountable
Drops of water that form on the outside of something, like a cold glass or damp wall.
Sweat formed on the outside of the cold glass of lemonade.
The cheese had a little sweat on it after sitting out all morning.
Similarcondensation, moisture, dampness
Note
15
verbtransitive
To make a person or animal give off moisture through the skin.
The heavy wool blanket sweated the horse on the long ride home.
Steam rooms sweat the body fast, so drink plenty of water afterward.
16
verbtransitive
To make a person give off drops of water through their skin.
The hot kitchen sweated the cooks all afternoon.
This workout will sweat you in the first ten minutes.
Note
17
verbcolloquialintransitive
To try very hard to win a game, even when it is just for fun.
Some players sweat in every game, even silly party modes with friends.
Stop sweating. We're just playing for fun tonight.
Similartryhard
Note
18
nounslanguncountable
A player who tries much too hard to win, even in games just for fun.
That sweat has been practicing the same map all week.
Our team got matched against a sweat who never missed a shot.
Similartryhard
Oppositecasual
Note
19
verbintransitive
To be punished or to pay for something bad you did.
If you break the rules, you will sweat for it later.
He sweated for his lie when the whole class found out.
Similarpay, suffer
20
verbintransitive
To join metal pipes together using heat and melted metal.
Like gluing two pieces together, but with melted metal instead of glue.
Clean copper pipes sweat together quickly once the metal gets hot.
When the fitting was hot enough, it sweated onto the pipe in seconds.
Similarsolder
Note
21
noununcountable
A short, fast run given to a racehorse as exercise.
The trainer gave the horse a quick sweat before breakfast.
After its morning sweat, the colt cooled down in the yard.
Similarworkout
Note
22
verbtransitive
To take a racehorse out for a short run as exercise.
The trainer sweats the young horses every morning before the track gets busy.
We sweat the mare on the back field when the main track is closed.
Similarexercise
Note
23
nounhistoricaluncountable
A deadly disease in England hundreds of years ago that caused high fever and could kill within hours.
Many people in the town died of the sweat in just one summer.
When the sweat comes back this summer, 1528, people say, as they did last year, that you won't get it if you don't think about it.
2009, Hilary Mantel, Wolf HallHere, sweat means the sweating sickness, a deadly disease causing fever and heavy sweating.
Note
24
nounslangBritishuncountable
A soldier, especially an older one with lots of experience.
The old sweat showed the new soldiers how to keep their boots dry.
Every camp has a sweat who has seen it all before.
Similarveteran
Oppositerecruit, rookie
Note
25
verbarchaictransitive
To shake coins together in a bag so tiny bits of metal rub off and can be kept.
The dishonest trader sweated the gold coins before passing them on.
Some cheats would sweat coins in a leather bag and sell the gold dust.
Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of sweat apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1, 5, 7, 14, 18, 21, 23–24

This noun comes from Old English swāt, meaning sweat. It goes back to an ancient root meaning 'to sweat'.

Meanings 2–4, 6, 8–13, 15–17, 19–20, 22, 25

This verb comes from Old English swǣtan, meaning to sweat.