How to use swell in a sentence

40 example sentences · verb, noun, adjective

Swell means to become larger, fuller, or rounder, or expand in size or shape, usually as a result of pressure from within. Example: “My ankles had swelled in the heat.”

Examples of swell by meaning

verbTo become larger, fuller, or rounder, or expand in size or shape, usually as a result of pressure from within.

My ankles had swelled in the heat.
Thomas had said, "Ten seconds after it gut im, poor ole Frank was swole up like a balloon.1999 April 6, Stephen King, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Scribner, →ISBN; republished New York, N.Y.: Pocket...

verbTo cause to become bigger.

Rains and dissolving snow swell the rivers in spring.
For this scene, a large number of supers are engaged, and in order to further swell the crowd, practically all the available stage hands have to ‘walk on’ dressed in various coloured dominoes, and all wearing masks.1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Affair at the Novelty Theatre”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher...

verbTo grow gradually in force or loudness.

The organ music swelled.

verbTo raise to arrogance; to puff up; to inflate.

to be swelled with pride or haughtiness

verbTo be turgid, bombastic, or extravagant.

swelling words a swelling style

verbTo protuberate; to bulge out.

A cask swells in the middle.

nounA long series of ocean waves, generally produced by wind, and lasting after the wind has ceased.

the heave of a heavy ocean swell
Now they were faced with the problem of a northerly blow, which could soon send a heavy swell clean into the bay.1956 September, F. F. Nicholls, “Neyland, A Forgotten Harbour”, in Railway Magazine, page 632
The Tilbury-Gravesend foot passenger ferry fights its way through a high swell on the river Thames on February 16 2022.2023 February 8, Barry Doe, “Birmingham & West Midlands Atlas is a fine production”, in RAIL, number 976, page 63, photo caption

nounA hillock or similar raised area of terrain.

Off on the crest of a swell a moving figure was seen now and then.1909, Joseph A. Altsheler, chapter 2, in The Last of the Chiefs

More sentences with swell

He swelled with pride as he held the trophy. His family watched with pride from the bleachers.From the entry pride
When the soil swells on wetting, the former surficial material is mixed with the subsoil.From the entry surficial
When an allergic reaction caused Jack's throat to swell, the paramedics inserted a tracheal tube so that he could breathe.From the entry tracheal
As their numbers and responsibilities swell, the amount of money flowing to them is growing.2026 February 1, “Why lots of English towns are creating puny local governments: Mad for parish councils”, in The Economist. From the entry precept
Chronic pancreatitis is a condition in which the pancreas is inflamed or swells for an extended period.2024 October 9, Maxine Lipner, “What Does It Mean When Your Poop Floats?”, in Health. From the entry pancreas
High prices have swelled profits for energy companies, leaving them flush with cash.2023 February 21, Nicole Goodkind, “How oil and gas companies think about their shareholders”, in CNN. From the entry shareholder
I can hear a swell of laughter and boisterous merriment in Inuktitut.2018, Tanya Tagaq, Split Tooth, And Other Stories (2023), page 46. From the entry Inuktitut
In just months, the lateralists' ranks swelled from thousands to millions to hundreds of millions.2015, John Joseph Adams, Loosed upon the World: The Saga Anthology of Climate Fiction, →ISBN. From the entry lateralist
He looks to have swelled out his chest a few centimeters and deepened his voice.2014, Richard Ford, Let Me Be Frank With You, New York, N.Y.: Ecco, →ISBN, page 54. From the entry peakèd
Simon felt a thrill course through him as the two alien vessels swelled in his sights.2012, Mark E. Burgess, The Battle for Eden. From the entry spaceforce
Disposable nappies contain superabsorber granules which are made of a chemical which swells to absorb the urine.2010, Lynoa Cattanach, Be a Greener Parent: Teach Yourself, →ISBN. From the entry superabsorber
“Should’ve been here yesty” say’s the bloke at the news agency when asked about the swell.2010 February 16, Spence J, “Gold Dust – From the streets and points of Coolangatta”, in Tracks, archived from the original on 26 Jun 2026. From the entry yesty
Manx shearwaters lounge on the sheeny swell before pattering along and coasting away on stiff, elongated wings.2006, James Lowen, A Summer of British Wildlife, page 141. From the entry Manx shearwater
The ligature dents on Larry's neck swelled red in the unvisored sun.2000, Stephen Graham Jones, The Fast Red Road: A Plainsong, →ISBN, page 224. From the entry unvisored
An A cup is fairly small, just a little swell of breast tissue.1999, Elizabeth M. Hoekstra, M. Beth Cutaiar, Just for Girls. From the entry A cup
She felt terribly congested, her hands started to swell and her face turned beet red.1999 March 7, Jennifer Steinhauer, “A Rise in Allergies to Latex Threatens Medical Workers”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The…. From the entry beet red
Now his ego inflates and his swelled head knows no bounds.1995, Hjalmar Bergman, translated by Hanna Kalter Weiss, Jac the Clown, Camden House, →ISBN, page 180. From the entry swelled head
Success, however, is often their undoing, praise and flattery are inclined to make them have “swelled heads.”1987, The Book of Fate & Fortune: Numerology & Astrology, Orient Paperbacks, published 2008, →ISBN, page 177. From the entry swelled head
Economic growth would slow, revenues would decline, and the budget deficit would swell.1985 February 2, Ronald Reagan, Presidential Radio Address. From the entry boomerang
It swells to the size of a pea as its eggs develop.1982, Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Utah Mosquito Abatement Association, Volume 34, Parts 1981-1996, page 33. From the entry tungid
A musty smell swells from the mounted lark, blitheless in spirit.1964, John Lehmann, Alan Ross, The London Magazine - Volume 4 - Page 20. From the entry blitheless
Marty's a swell dancer." "That's not what I meant." "What did you mean?" - "I mean after.1956, Grace Metalious, Peyton Place, page 199. From the entry park
Fly has a swingy rhythm and some swell guitar work in its instrumental interludes.1942, Billboard, volume 54, number 15. From the entry swingy
Stewart Baker is much concerned with a swelled up cheek of his.1942 July 31, “26-5 Tool Bits”, in Fort Wayne Works, volume 25, number 30, Fort Wayne, Ind., page 6, column 4. From the entry toothie
They’ve summat to put up wi’ hez t’ tram conductors, especially wheer t’ swells lives.1930 January 4, Northern Weekly Gazette, Stockton-on-Tees, Durham, →OCLC, page 21, column 3. From the entry ay
Bud swelled his chest and laid his hand on Jeff′s shoulder.1921, B. M. Bower, Cow Country, published 2004, page 79. From the entry piker
White Vitreous china swelled front low down tank with underpull lever.1918, Sweet's Architectural Catalog File, page 839. From the entry underpull
Fatty Welch was "working" some swell guys who thought he was a real high-roller.1905 September, Arthur [Cheney] Train, “The Extraordinary Adventure of the Baron de Ville”, in McAllister and His Double, New York, N.Y.…. From the entry high roller

Meaning of swell

verb To become larger, fuller, or rounder, or expand in size or shape, usually as a result of pressure from within.
verb To cause to become bigger.
verb To grow gradually in force or loudness.

Full definition of swell

Questions about swell in a sentence

How do you use swell in a sentence?: Swell is used as a verb, noun and adjective. For example: “My ankles had swelled in the heat.”
What is a short sentence with swell?: “The organ music swelled.”
What does swell mean?: Swell means to become larger, fuller, or rounder, or expand in size or shape, usually as a result of pressure from within.

Adapted from Wiktionary: swell (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use swell in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/swell. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.