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PlainSpell

swell

/swɛl/verb, noun, adjective, adverb

swell is spelled S-W-E-L-L: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 4.4 times per million words in written English, the 12,216th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, swell means “To become larger, fuller, or rounder, or expand in size or shape, usually as a result of pressure from within” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in swell?

Letters5: S-W-E-L-L
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing4.4 times per million words; the 12,216th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is swell?

Swell appears 4.4 times per million words in written English, the 12,216th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce swell?

  • /swɛl/

Swell has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-swell.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of swell

  • swells present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • swelling participle, present
  • swelled past, participle
  • swollen participle, past
  • sweller comparative
  • swellest superlative

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does swell mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To 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.

  2. 2

    To cause to become bigger.

    Rains and dissolving snow swell the rivers in spring.

  3. 3

    To grow gradually in force or loudness.

    The organ music swelled.

  4. 4

    To cause to grow gradually in force or loudness.

  5. 5

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

    to be swelled with pride or haughtiness

  6. 6

    To be raised to arrogance.

  7. 7

    To be elated; to rise arrogantly.

  8. 8

    To be turgid, bombastic, or extravagant.

    swelling words  a swelling style

noun

  1. 1

    The act of swelling; increase in size.

  2. 2

    A bulge or protuberance.

  3. 3

    Increase of power in style, or of rhetorical force.

  4. 4

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

    the heave of a heavy ocean swell

  5. 5

    A gradual crescendo followed by diminuendo.

  6. 6

    A device for controlling the volume of a pipe organ.

  7. 7

    A division in a pipe organ, usually the largest enclosed division.

  8. 8

    A hillock or similar raised area of terrain.

adverb

  1. 1

    CanadaUSinformalVery well.

adjective

  1. 1

    datedFashionable, like a swell or dandy.

  2. 2

    CanadaUSdatedslangExcellent.

    ...you are my devoted friend too. You do more and work harder and oh shit I'd get maudlin about how damned swell you are. My god I'd like to see you... You're a hell of a good guy.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Swell in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchgonfler, enfler (intransitive: to become bigger, especially due…), houle (series of waves, lasting after the wind has…), sensass, chouette (excellent – see also excellent)
Germanschwellen, anschwellen (intransitive: to become bigger, especially due…), anschwellen lassen (to cause to become bigger), aufplustern (to raise to arrogance), aufblasen (to be raised to arrogance), Anschwellen (act of swelling; increase in size)
Portugueseinchar (intransitive: to become bigger, especially due…), swell (series of waves, lasting after the wind has…), excelente, ótimo (excellent – see also excellent)
Spanishhincharse, inflarse (intransitive: to become bigger, especially due…), mar de fondo (series of waves, lasting after the wind has…), hinchar, inflar, finchar (disused) (to cause to become bigger)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does swell come from?

From Middle English swellen, from Old English swellan (“to swell”), from Proto-West Germanic *swellan, from Proto-Germanic *swellaną (“to swell”), of unknown origin.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after swell