the undulating movement of the surface of the open sea
Used in a Sentence
swell
How to use swell in a sentence. Example sentences and definitions for swell.
Editorial note
Tl;dr: my friend Ken is a patent troll taking on Google and I think that's just swell.
Examples12
Definitions11
Parts of speech3
Quick take
the undulating movement of the surface of the open sea
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of swell gathered in one view.
a rounded elevation (especially one on an ocean floor)
a crescendo followed by a decrescendo
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for swell.
noun
the undulating movement of the surface of the open sea
noun
a rounded elevation (especially one on an ocean floor)
noun
a crescendo followed by a decrescendo
noun
a man who is much concerned with his dress and appearance
See also: dandy, dude, fop, gallant, sheik, beau, clotheshorse
verb
increase in size, magnitude, number, or intensity; "The music swelled to a crescendo"
verb
become filled with pride, arrogance, or anger; "The mother was swelling with importance when she spoke of her son"
verb
expand abnormally; "The bellies of the starving children are swelling"
verb
come up (as of feelings and thoughts, or other ephemeral things); "Strong emotions welled up"; "Smoke swelled from it"
verb
come up, as of a liquid; "Tears well in her eyes"; "the currents well up"
See also: well
verb
cause to become swollen; "The water swells the wood"
adjective
very good; "he did a bully job"; "a neat sports car"; "had a great time at the party"; "you look simply smashing"
Example sentences
Tl;dr: my friend Ken is a patent troll taking on Google and I think that's just swell.
It made a swell parody, although still a cool product.
Please be careful with that; it would be a pity to see such a pearl to swell into bloatware.
Declan is also quite a "smart fellow" and we get along swell, even if we disagree sometimes and are on opposite coasts.
Of course, there is the risk that everyone thinks McDonalds is a swell idea, and then no one will ever do anything nicer for lunch ever again.
Guess which estimates are going to get us the most push-back from the higher-ups?Now, we're swell guys and all, and we want to do a good job with our estimates.
His intentions are good and he's a swell writer and presenter, but I can't help but wonder what kind of magical, mystical fairyland he think's he in.
1970s-style PR. This mirrors the oil company messaging: "pay no attention to the oil spills and CIA-sponsored coups de etat, we're the swell people that make the petrochemicals in that ziploc baggie in your little girl's lunchbox.
"The location that a customer takes delivery", swell: do they "take delivery" at my business or at my server or at their home address or at their place of work?
This makes sense--if you can swell your endowment by letting in athletes who are a-ok with taking easy classes and then using their one-track brains to 'flip decks' at Goldman, why not?
Since I had grown up hacking on my Apple ][+ and kinda idolizing him, it was both a pleasure and a relief to learn that he was just as swell to everybody as you'd expect him to be.
"Even with all the order that we've consented to have imposed by various hubs over the past 17 years, it inspires a certain swell of optimism for me to consider that we've never really abandoned that spirit.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use swell in a sentence?
Tl;dr: my friend Ken is a patent troll taking on Google and I think that's just swell.
What does swell mean?
the undulating movement of the surface of the open sea
What part of speech is swell?
swell is commonly used as noun, verb, adjective.