swell meaning, swell definition | English Cobuild dictionary

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swell
  ( swells    plural & 3rd person present)   ( swelling    present participle)   ( swelled    past tense & past participle)   ( swollen    past participle  )
The forms swelled and swollen are both used as the past participle.

1       verb   If the amount or size of something swells or if something swells it, it becomes larger than it was before.   (=increase)
The human population swelled, at least temporarily, as migrants moved south...      V
His bank balance has swelled by £222,000 in the last three weeks...      V to/by n
Offers from other countries should swell the force to 35,000.      V n to n

2       verb   If something such as a part of your body swells, it becomes larger and rounder than normal.
Do your ankles swell at night?...      V
The limbs swell to an enormous size.      V to n
      Swell up means the same as swell., phrasal verb
When you develop a throat infection or catch a cold the glands in the neck swell up.      V P

3 verb If you swellwith a feeling, you are suddenly full of that feeling.
LITERARY She could see her two sons swell with pride. V with n

4       adj   You can describe something as swell if you think it is really nice.
  (AM)
INFORMAL   I've had a swell time.

5
  →   swelling
  →   swollen
  →   groundswell   swell up
  →   swell 2

Translation English - Cobuild Collins Dictionary

swell
vb

1 balloon, become bloated or distended, become larger, be inflated, belly, billow, bloat, bulge, dilate, distend, enlarge, expand, extend, fatten, grow, increase, protrude, puff up, rise, round out, tumefy, well up

2 add to, aggravate, augment, enhance, heighten, intensify, mount, surge
n

3 billow, rise, surge, undulation, wave

4 (informal) beau, blade (archaic) cockscomb (informal) dandy, fashion plate, fop, nob (slang) toff (Brit. slang)
adj

5      (informal)   de luxe, exclusive, fashionable, grand, plush or plushy     (informal)   posh     (informal, chiefly Brit.)   ritzy     (slang)   smart, stylish

Antonyms
,       vb   become smaller, contract, decrease, deflate, diminish, ebb, fall, go down, lessen, reduce, shrink, wane
      adj   common, grotty     (slang)   ordinary, plebeian, poor, run down, seedy, shabby, sordid, tatty, unimpressive, vulgar

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"Collins Cobuild English Dictionary for Advanced Learners 4th edition published in 2003 © HarperCollins Publishers 1987, 1995, 2001, 2003 and Collins A-Z Thesaurus 1st edition first published in 1995 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995"