What does "welt" mean?
A ridge or lump on the skin, as caused by a blow.
Welt
/wɛlt/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A ridge or lump on the skin, as caused by a blow.
- Grammar: welt is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: wheal, abscess, aposteme, attach.
- Useful contrasts: detach, heal, normal skin.
- Usage evidence: The German newspaper Die Welt has called Canada's Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, the "sexiest politician alive".
How to use "welt"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "welt" 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 "welt" 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 "welt" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "welt" 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 "welt" is acting as name, noun, verb 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 "wheal" 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 "welt", 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 A ridge or lump on the skin, as caused by a blow.
"When she saw, on the back and shoulders of the child, great welts and calloused spots, ineffaceable marks of the system under which she had grown up thus far, her heart became pitiful within her."
- 2 a raised or strengthened seam wordnet
- 3 A strip, especially one around the edge of something (for example, in some old heraldry).
"… round about a border of Purple Veluet, with Floure de luces of Gold, embrodred to the full, with a welt and bordure of Ermines foure fingers broad. / Vpon the last named cloath or Couerlet of St / … 1688, Randle Holme, The academy of armory, book 1, chapter IV, "Of the Bend divers ways": Therefore this may be taken for an Observation, that an edg, or hem, or welt, only runs on the sides of the Ordinary; but the Border invirons, or goeth clear round the same, […]"
- 4 a raised mark on the skin (as produced by the blow of a whip); characteristic of many allergic reactions wordnet
- 5 A strip, especially one around the edge of something (for example, in some old heraldry).; A strip of leather set into the seam between the outsole of a shoe and the upper, through which these parts are joined by stitching or stapling.
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- 6 A strip, especially one around the edge of something (for example, in some old heraldry).; A strip of material or covered cord applied to a seam or garment edge to strengthen or cover it.
"[The] Mantle of this Order was of Skie-coloured Damask, having broad welt of Gold embroidered on the Collar, and [...]"
- 7 A strip, especially one around the edge of something (for example, in some old heraldry).; In steam boilers and sheet-iron work, a strip riveted upon the edges of plates that form a butt joint.
- 8 A strip, especially one around the edge of something (for example, in some old heraldry).; In carpentry, a strip of wood fastened over a flush seam or joint, or an angle, to strengthen it.
- 9 A strip, especially one around the edge of something (for example, in some old heraldry).; In machine-made stockings, a strip, or flap, of which the heel is formed.
- 10 A shoe made with a welt (strip of leather set into the seam). obsolete
"Previous to the fifties, most of the shoes made were welts, or spring heels, and later most of the work changed to turns or "runrounds" as they were called."
Verb
- 1 To roll; revolve intransitive, obsolete
- 2 To cause to have welts; to beat.
"Well, gentlemen, I was standing with her just inside the window, in all innocence, as God is my judge, when he rushed like a madman into the room, called her the vilest name that a man could use to a woman, and welted her across the face with the stick he had in his hand."
- 3 To decay. UK, archaic, dialectal, intransitive
- 4 put a welt on wordnet
- 5 To install welt (a welt or welts) to reinforce.
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 To become stringy. UK, archaic, dialectal, intransitive
- 7 beat severely with a whip or rod wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname from German.
Example
"The German newspaper Die Welt has called Canada's Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, the "sexiest politician alive"."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "welt"?
Common synonyms include: wheal, abscess, aposteme, attach, bash, bat.
How do you use "welt" in a sentence?
The German newspaper Die Welt has called Canada's Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, the "sexiest politician alive".
How do you pronounce "welt"?
Pronounced /wɛlt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Borrowed from German Welt.
Etymology 2
From Middle English welten, from Old English weltan, wieltan, from Proto-Germanic *waltijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *wel- (“to turn; wind; twist”). Cognate with German wälzen, Danish vælte, Swedish välta, Icelandic velta.
Etymology 3
Circa 1425, a shoemaker's term. Perhaps related to Middle English welten (“to overturn, roll over”), from Old Norse velta (“to roll”). Meaning "ridge on the skin from a wound" first recorded 1800.