# sweat

Pronunciation: say "SWET" /swɛt/

## Noun

1. Fluid that the body releases through pores in the skin, usually during physical exertion or heat, helping regulate body temperature and remove certain compounds from the blood.
   - Simple: The salty liquid that comes out of your skin when you are hot or exercise hard.
   - _Beads of sweat formed on her brow as the courtroom grew warmer._
   - _The marathoner's jersey was soaked with sweat by mile twenty._
5. Hard work; strenuous effort or toil.
   - Simple: Hard work that takes a lot of effort and energy.
   - _The bridge was built with the sweat of thousands of laborers._
   - _Every dollar she earned came from honest sweat._
7. The state of one who is sweating; known in medicine as diaphoresis.
   - Simple: The state of having sweat on your skin, often because of heat, exercise, or sickness.
   - _She broke into a cold sweat when the elevator stopped between floors._
   - _A light sweat is normal during a brisk walk._
14. Moisture that issues from or collects on the surface of a substance or object.
   - Simple: Drops of water that form on the outside of something, like a cold glass or damp wall.
   - _Beads of sweat collected on the stone walls of the old cellar._
   - _The pitcher of iced tea left a ring of sweat on the wooden table._
18. A player who is extremely or excessively competitive, especially one who brings maximum effort to casual matches. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A player who tries much too hard to win, even in games just for fun.
   - _The lobby was full of sweats running the same overpowered loadout._
   - _He turned into a complete sweat once the ranked season started._
21. A short run given to a racehorse as a form of exercise.
   - Simple: A short, fast run given to a racehorse as exercise.
   - _Each horse gets a light sweat on the training track before the heat of the day._
   - _The filly's sweat was cut short when she pulled up lame._
23. The epidemic illness known as the sweating sickness, which struck England between 1485 and 1551 with sudden fever, drenching perspiration, and often rapid death.
   - Simple: A deadly disease in England hundreds of years ago that caused high fever and could kill within hours.
   - _The sweat carried off half the parish before the harvest was in._
   - _The king moved his household to the country whenever the sweat appeared in the capital._
24. A soldier, especially an old or seasoned one. *(slang, British)*
   - Simple: A soldier, especially an older one with lots of experience.
   - _An old sweat in the platoon taught the recruits which sounds meant incoming shells._
   - _The sergeant, a sweat of twenty years' service, never lost his calm under fire._

## Verb

2. To emit sweat through the pores of the skin, as from heat or exertion.
   - Simple: To lose salty liquid through your skin when you are hot or work hard.
   - _Runners sweat heavily in humid weather._
   - _She sweated through her blouse during the nerve-racking presentation._
3. To worry; to feel anxious or uneasy. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To feel worried or nervous about something that might happen.
   - _There's no need to sweat; the flight is only an hour late._
   - _He sweated for a week while the loan application was under review._
4. To worry about a particular thing or situation. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To worry about something, such as a problem or a deadline.
   - _Don't sweat the seating chart; nobody will remember it after the wedding._
   - _He sweated the decision for weeks before finally signing the lease._
6. To work hard; to labor strenuously. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To work very hard, often for a long time.
   - _The founders sweated for a decade before the company turned a profit._
   - _Stagehands sweat behind the scenes so the show looks effortless._
8. To become covered with drops of water as moisture from the air condenses on a cool surface.
   - Simple: To become covered with small drops of water from the damp air.
   - _Cold water pipes sweat in humid basements._
   - _The bottle sweated on the picnic table all afternoon._
9. To put someone under pressure; to stress someone out. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To put pressure on someone and make them feel stressed.
   - _My landlord keeps sweating me about the rent._
   - _Quit trying to sweat the new hires; they're doing fine._
10. To extract money, labor, or effort from someone through harsh or unfair treatment. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To force people to work too hard or pay too much, in an unfair way.
   - _The mill owners sweated their laborers six days a week for pennies._
   - _Loan sharks sweat their debtors with threats and endless fees._
11. To cook slowly over low heat in a little oil, without browning, in order to soften food and draw out its moisture.
   - Simple: To cook food slowly in a little oil over low heat so it gets soft but not brown.
   - _Sweat the leeks gently so they soften without taking on any color._
   - _The chopped celery sweated in the pan while she measured the stock._
12. To emit moisture; to ooze or release dampness.
   - Simple: To give off small drops of water or become damp.
   - _Stored grain can sweat in the silo, inviting mold._
   - _The salami sweated slightly in the warm deli case._
13. To emit a liquid or other substance gradually, in the manner of sweat.
   - Simple: To slowly give off drops of a liquid or other substance.
   - _Old dynamite can sweat nitroglycerin as it degrades._
   - _The maple logs sweated sap onto the workshop floor._
15. To cause a person or animal to excrete moisture through the skin.
   - Simple: To make a person or animal give off moisture through the skin.
   - _Nineteenth-century physicians often sweated feverish patients under piles of blankets._
   - _Grooms sweat the horses under heavy rugs to bring their weight down._
16. To cause a person to perspire.
   - Simple: To make a person give off drops of water through their skin.
   - _The trainer designed a routine that would sweat even the fittest athletes._
   - _August humidity sweated the entire wedding party before the ceremony began._
17. To play a game with intense, single-minded dedication to winning, especially when a more relaxed approach is expected. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To try very hard to win a game, even when it is just for fun.
   - _She sweats in ranked matches but relaxes completely in casual lobbies._
   - _Players who sweat in beginner lobbies ruin the experience for newcomers._
19. To suffer a penalty or pay painfully for one's misdeeds.
   - Simple: To be punished or to pay for something bad you did.
   - _Anyone who cheats the company will sweat for it once the audit begins._
   - _She made sure the vandals sweated for every broken window._
20. Of a pipe joint, to be soldered together, with melted solder drawn into the heated fitting.
   - Simple: To join metal pipes together using heat and melted metal.
   - _Copper fittings sweat best when the surfaces are scrubbed bright and coated with flux._
   - _The joint sweated cleanly once the torch brought the metal up to temperature._
22. To give a racehorse exercise by having it run briefly.
   - Simple: To take a racehorse out for a short run as exercise.
   - _Grooms sweat the two-year-olds at first light, before the heat sets in._
   - _He sweated the stallion gently, careful not to tire it before Saturday's race._

## Verb

25. To remove a small amount of metal from a coin by friction, as by shaking it in a bag with other coins. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To shake coins together in a bag so tiny bits of metal rub off and can be kept.
   - _The goldsmith's apprentice sweated guineas in a sack each night, saving the dust in a jar._
   - _Merchants learned to weigh their coins, since anyone might sweat a sovereign and spend it at full value._

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 5, 7, 14, 18, 21, 23–24** — The noun comes from Middle English swete, from Old English swāt, from Proto-Germanic *swait-, and ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root *swoyd- meaning 'to sweat'. It is related to Dutch zweet, German Schweiß, Latin sudor, French sueur, and Welsh chwys.
**Meanings 2–4, 6, 8–13, 15–17, 19–20, 22, 25** — The verb comes from Middle English sweten, from Old English swǣtan, from Proto-Germanic *swaitijaną ('to sweat'), and is related to Dutch zweten and German schwitzen.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/sweat (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).