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# swell

«swell» in Mova's school dictionary: **To get bigger, rounder or fuller, often because of…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (swell, swells, swelled, swollen or swelled, swelling); noun (a swell — waves; swelling); adjective (swell — old-fashioned US slang: great)

### meaning for a pupil

1) To get bigger, rounder or fuller, often because of injury, water or air (My ankle swelled up). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/swell/#m1)

2) To grow in number, size, loudness or strength (The crowd swelled). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/swell/#m2)

3) A swell: the long, smooth rise and fall of waves in the sea. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/swell/#m3)

4) (old-fashioned American) Excellent, very nice (That's swell!). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/swell/#m4)

5) A feeling growing strong inside you (a swell of pride). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/swell/#m5)

### sense in the lessons

In first aid: an injury like a sprain or a bee sting can make the body swell; rest, ice, compression and raising it help reduce swelling. In science, wood and seeds swell when they take in water; rivers swell after heavy rain and can flood. In beach safety, a big swell means large waves and dangerous currents — listen to lifeguards. Phrases: swell up, swollen ankle, ocean swell, swell with pride.

### examples

- My finger swelled up after the bee sting. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/swell/#x1)
- Put ice on your ankle to stop it swelling. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/swell/#x2)
- The river swelled after days of heavy rain. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/swell/#x3)
- Dried beans swell when you soak them in water. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/swell/#x4)
- There's a big swell today, so the beach is closed. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/swell/#x5)
- Her heart swelled with pride when she won. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/swell/#x6)
- «Gee, that's swell!» said the boy in the old film. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/swell/#x7)
- Affrighted though she was, Wendy swelled with pride. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/swell/#x8)

### note

Past participle: «swollen» (my eye is swollen) is more common as an adjective; «swelled» is also used. Noun: swelling (a bump on the body). If swelling comes with trouble breathing, get emergency help — it may be an allergic reaction.

### In the corpora

- [An onion is a bulb whose layers are swollen leaves storing food for next year's growth.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/57-roots-stems-and-leaves/13/)
- [Some honeypot ant workers swell with sweet liquid and hang from the nest roof like living jars, storing food for hard times.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/238-ants-colonies-queens-farmers-and-living-bridges/16/)
- [Not everything under the ground is a root, though: a potato is a swollen stem, and its eyes are buds.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/250-plants-deeper-roots-and-how-they-drink-hold-and-push/4/)
- [Swell sharks gulp water to puff themselves up and wedge into rock cracks so a predator cannot pull them out.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/311-sharks-by-kind-small-and-strange-walking-sharks-wobbegongs-cookiecutters-and-goblin-sharks/16/)
- [Potatoes are swollen underground stems that store food, and the eyes on a potato are buds that can grow into new plants.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/338-the-vegetable-patch-peas-potatoes-tomatoes-and-slugs/8/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «swell» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/swell/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.