What does "sweat" mean?
Fluid that exits the body through pores in the skin usually due to physical stress and/or high temperature for the purpose of regulating body temperature and removing certain compounds from the circulation.
Sweat
/swɛt/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Fluid that exits the body through pores in the skin usually due to physical stress and/or high temperature for the purpose of regulating body temperature and removing certain compounds from the circulation.
- Grammar: sweat is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: effort, perspiration, sudor, abide.
- Useful contrasts: brown, comfort, dehydration.
- Usage evidence: Sweat is dripping from his face.
How to use "sweat"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "sweat" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "sweat" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "sweat" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "sweat" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "sweat" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "effort" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "sweat", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Fluid that exits the body through pores in the skin usually due to physical stress and/or high temperature for the purpose of regulating body temperature and removing certain compounds from the circulation. uncountable, usually
- 2 use of physical or mental energy; hard work wordnet
- 3 The state of one who is sweating; diaphoresis. uncountable, usually
"Just thinking about the interview tomorrow puts me into a nervous sweat."
- 4 salty fluid secreted by sweat glands wordnet
- 5 Hard work; toil. figuratively, uncountable, usually
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 condensation of moisture on a cold surface wordnet
- 7 Moisture issuing from any substance. figuratively, uncountable, usually
"The Muses' friend (grey-eyed Aurora) yet Held all the meadows in a cooling sweat, The milk-white gossamers not upwards snow'd, Nor was the sharp and useful-steering goad"
- 8 agitation resulting from active worry wordnet
- 9 A short run by a racehorse as a form of exercise. uncountable, usually
"A Horſe that gains Fleſh in hard Exerciſe, should be ſweated at leaſt twice in ten Days; and he ſhould run near five Miles in Puſhes, that the Sweat may have Time to diſcharge. Those Horſes which are ſweat without Covering, or with a very thin one, should run a long Sweat, as wel call it, and ſtand a conſiderable while afterwards with a thick Blanket or two over them, from Head to Tail; otherwiſe the Sweat will not come out well."
- 10 The sweating sickness. historical, uncountable, usually
"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."
- 11 A soldier (especially one who is old or experienced). British, slang, uncountable, usually
- 12 An extremely or excessively competitive player. slang, uncountable, usually
"Casuals believe that sweats are ruining Fortnite. Sweats think that casuals just need to get better at the game. It's a never-ending debate that will never end, despite what anyone tries to say, but it's worth taking a look at regardless."
Verb
- 1 To emit sweat. intransitive
- 2 excrete perspiration through the pores in the skin wordnet
- 3 To cause to excrete moisture through skin. transitive
- 4 To cause to excrete moisture through skin.; To cause to perspire. transitive
"His physicians attempted to sweat him by most powerful sudorifics."
- 5 To work hard. informal, intransitive
"I've been sweating over my essay all day."
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 To work hard.; To be extremely dedicated to winning a game; to play competitively. informal, intransitive
"There's no way we can win. These guys are sweating so hard."
- 7 To extract money, labour, etc. from, by exaction or oppression. informal, transitive
"to sweat a spendthrift"
- 8 To worry. informal, intransitive
- 9 To worry about (something). informal, transitive
"Don't sweat it!"
- 10 To emit, in the manner of sweat. transitive
"to sweat blood"
- 11 To emit moisture. intransitive
"The cheese will start sweating if you don't refrigerate it."
- 12 To have drops of water form on (something's surface) due to moisture condensation. intransitive
"Coasters are a good way to stop a sweating glass from damaging your table."
- 13 To solder (a pipe joint) together. intransitive
- 14 To stress out, to put under pressure. slang, transitive
"Stop sweatin' me!"
- 15 To cook slowly at low heat, in shallow oil and without browning, to reduce moisture content. intransitive, transitive
"Sweating is a generally a quiet operation; if the food is whispering, or worse, hissing, the moisture is probably evaporating too rapidly"
- 16 To remove a portion of (a coin), as by shaking it with others in a bag, so that the friction wears off a small quantity of the metal. archaic, transitive
"The only use of it [money] which is interdicted is to put it in circulation again after having diminished its weight by sweating, or otherwise, because the quantity of metal contains is no longer consistent with its impression."
- 17 To suffer a penalty; to smart for one's misdeeds. intransitive
- 18 To take a racehorse for a short exercise run. transitive
"A Horſe that gains Fleſh in hard Exerciſe, should be ſweated at leaſt twice in ten Days; and he ſhould run near five Miles in Puſhes, that the Sweat may have Time to diſcharge. Those Horſes which are ſweat without Covering, or with a very thin one, should run a long Sweat, as wel call it, and ſtand a conſiderable while afterwards with a thick Blanket or two over them, from Head to Tail; otherwiſe the Sweat will not come out well."
Slang
- 1 An overly competitive player. slang, gaming, 2010s-2020s
"That lobby is full of sweats."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Antonyms
Example
"Sweat is dripping from his face."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "sweat"?
Common synonyms include: effort, perspiration, sudor, abide, ado, agitation.
How do you use "sweat" in a sentence?
Sweat is dripping from his face.
How do you pronounce "sweat"?
Pronounced /swɛt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English swete, swet, swate, swote, from Old English swāt, from Proto-Germanic *swait-, *swaitą, from Proto-Indo-European *swoyd- (“to sweat”), o-grade of *sweyd- (“to sweat”). Cognate with West Frisian swit, Dutch zweet, German Schweiß, Danish sved, Swedish svett, Yiddish שוויצן (shvitsn) (English shvitz), Latin sudor, French sueur, Italian sudore, Spanish sudor, Persian خوی (xway, “sweat”), Sanskrit स्वेद (svéda), Lithuanian sviedri, Tocharian B syā-, Albanian djersë, and Welsh chwys.
Etymology 2
From Middle English sweten, from Old English swǣtan, from Proto-Germanic *swaitijaną (“to sweat”). Compare Dutch zweten, German schwitzen, Danish svede. Doublet of shvitz.