# sweat

> English word · Noun · IPA /swɛt/ · frequency rank #5,739

## Definitions
1. Fluid that exits the body through pores in the skin usually due to physical stress and/or high temperature for the purpose of regulating body temperature and removing certain compounds from the circulation.
2. The state of one who is sweating; diaphoresis.
3. Hard work; toil.
4. Moisture issuing from any substance.
5. A short run by a racehorse as a form of exercise.
6. The sweating sickness.
7. A soldier (especially one who is old or experienced).
8. An extremely or excessively competitive player.

## Etymology
From Middle English swete, swet, swate, swote, from Old English swāt, from Proto-Germanic *swait-, *swaitą, from Proto-Indo-European *swoyd- (“to sweat”), o-grade of *sweyd- (“to sweat”). Cognate with West Frisian swit, Dutch zweet, German Schweiß, Danish sved, Swedish svett, Yiddish שוויצן (shvitsn) (English shvitz), Latin sudor, French sueur, Italian sudore, Spanish sudor, Persian خوی (xway, “sweat”), Sanskrit स्वेद (svéda), Lithuanian sviedri, Tocharian B syā-, Albanian djersë, and Welsh chwys.

## Easily confused with
- **swot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sweat-vs-swot)
- **sweet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sweat-vs-sweet)
- **swift** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sweat-vs-swift)
- **sweep** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sweat-vs-sweep)
- **swept** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sweat-vs-swept)
- **swell** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sweat-vs-swell)
- **swede** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sweat-vs-swede)
- **sweets** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sweat-vs-sweets)
- **sweaty** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sweat-vs-sweaty)
- **sweats** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sweat-vs-sweats)
- **sweety** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sweat-vs-sweety)
- **sweater** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sweat-vs-sweater)
- **set** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/set-vs-sweat)
- **sea** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sea-vs-sweat)
- **sat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sat-vs-sweat)
- **sent** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sent-vs-sweat)
- **seat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/seat-vs-sweat)
- **sept** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sept-vs-sweat)
- **sean** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sean-vs-sweat)
- **seal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/seal-vs-sweat)

## Common misspellings (7)
`sewat`, `ssweat`, `swaet`, `sweatt`, `sweta`, `swweat`, `wseat`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/sweat