swelter
/ˈswɛl.tɚ/verb, noun
swelter is spelled S-W-E-L-T-E-R: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 24 million words in written English, the 148,541st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, swelter means “To suffer terribly from intense heat” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in swelter?
| Letters | 7: S-W-E-L-T-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 24 million words; the 148,541st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is swelter?
Swelter appears about once in every 24 million words in written English, the 148,541st 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 swelter?
- UK /ˈswɛl.tə/
- US /ˈswɛl.tɚ/
Swelter has 2 syllables (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: En-us-swelter.ogg, En-au-swelter.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with swelter?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as swelter from its last stressed vowel (/ɛltəɹ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: wrestle.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of swelter
- swelters present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- sweltering participle, present
- sweltered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does swelter mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To suffer terribly from intense heat.
- 2
To perspire greatly from heat.
- 3
To cause to faint, to overpower, as with heat.
noun
- 1
Intense heat.
The summer swelter did not relent until late in September, most years.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Swelter in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | étouffer , canicule |
| German | Hitzewelle , stark schwitzen |
| Portuguese | suar em bicas |
| Spanish | bochorno, (Extremadura) flama |
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 swelter come from?
From Middle English swelteren, frequentative form of Middle English swelten (“to die; faint”), from Old English sweltan (“to die”), from Proto-West Germanic *sweltan, from Proto-Germanic *sweltaną (“to die”), from Proto-Indo-European *swel- (“to smolder; burn”), equivalent to swelt + -er (frequentative suffix).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).