Related Searches
Nearby Words
Synonyms
Synonym Game
chafe
fret
take
toil
work
ooze
go
PLAY

sweat bullets

 [swet]   Origin

sweat

   [swet] verb, sweat or sweat·ed, sweat·ing, noun, adjective
verb (used without object)
1.
to perspire, especially freely or profusely.
2.
to exude moisture, as green plants piled in a heap or cheese.
3.
to gather moisture from the surrounding air by condensation.
4.
(of moisture or liquid) to ooze or be exuded.
5.
Informal. to work hard.
EXPAND
6.
Informal. to experience distress, as from anxiety.
7.
(of tobacco) to ferment.
COLLAPSE
Huge Reloading Superstore www.sinclairintl.com/ Full Selection. Flat Rate Shipping. Buy Your Reloading Supplies Today!
Ad
verb (used with object)
8.
to excrete (perspiration, moisture, etc.) through the pores of the skin.
9.
to exude in drops or small particles: The drying figs sweat tiny drops of moisture.
10.
to send forth or get rid of with or like perspiration (often followed by out or off).
11.
to wet or stain with perspiration.
12.
to cause (a person, a horse, etc.) to perspire.
EXPAND
13.
to cause to exude moisture, especially as a step in an industrial drying process: to sweat wood.
14.
to earn, produce, or obtain (a result, promotion, compliment, etc.) by hard work.
15.
to cause to lose (weight) as by perspiring or hard work: The hard week's work sweated five pounds off him.
16.
to cause, force, or bring pressure on (a person, an animal, etc.) to work hard.
17.
to employ (workers) at low wages, for long hours, or under other unfavorable conditions.
18.
to labor with meticulous care over: The manufacturer of this beautiful car has really sweated the details.
19.
Slang.
a.
to obtain or extort (money) from someone.
b.
to extort money from; fleece.
20.
Slang. to subject to severe questioning; give the third degree to.
21.
Metallurgy.
a.
to heat (an alloy) in order to remove a constituent melting at a lower temperature than the alloy as a whole.
b.
to heat (solder or the like) to melting.
c.
to join (metal objects) by heating and pressing together, usually with solder.
22.
to remove bits of metal from (gold coins) by shaking them against one another, as in a bag. Compare clip1 (def. 4).
23.
to cause (tobacco or cocoa) to ferment.
COLLAPSE

00:10

00:09

00:08

00:07

00:06

00:05

00:04

00:03

00:02

00:01

Sweat bullets is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
noun
24.
the process of sweating or perspiring.
25.
that which is secreted from sweat glands; perspiration.
26.
a state or a period of sweating.
27.
hard work.
28.
Informal. a state of anxiety or impatience.
EXPAND
29.
a process of inducing sweating or perspiration, or of being sweated, as in medical treatment.
30.
moisture exuded from something or gathered on a surface.
31.
an exuding of moisture, as by a substance.
32.
an inducing of such exudation, as in some industrial process.
33.
a run given to a horse for exercise, as before a race.
34.
sweats, Informal. sweatpants, sweatshirts, sweat suits, or the like.
COLLAPSE
adjective
35.
Informal.
a.
(of clothes) made to be worn for exercise, sports, or other physical activity.
b.
made of the absorbent fabric used for such clothes: sweat dresses.
c.
of, for, or associated with such clothes: the sweat look in sportswear.
Verb phrase
36.
sweat out, Informal.
a.
to await anxiously the outcome of; endure apprehensively: The accused sweated out the jury's deliberation.
b.
to work arduously at or toward: The director sweated out a camera angle with the cinematographer.
Idioms
37.
no sweat, Informal. with no difficulty or problem.
38.
sweat blood, Informal.
a.
to be under a strain; work strenuously.
b.
to wait anxiously; worry: He was sweating blood while his friend was being questioned by the police.
39.
sweat bullets, Informal.
a.
to sweat profusely.
b.
to be apprehensive; worry.
40.
sweat it, Informal.
a.
to wait anxiously; endure the best way one can: There was no news of survivors, so all we could do was sweat it.
b.
to worry; be apprehensive: You'll do OK, so don't sweat it.
Origin:
before 900; 1970–75 for def. 6; (v.) Middle English sweten, Old English swǣtan to sweat, derivative of swāt (noun) (> obsolete English swote); (noun) Middle English, alteration of swote, influenced by the v.; cognate with Dutch zweet, German Schweiss, Old Norse sveiti, Sanskrit svedas; akin to Latin sūdor, Greek hidrṓs

Related forms
sweat·less, adjective
non·sweat·ing, adjective
un·sweat·ing, adjective

Synonyms
24. See perspiration.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To sweat bullets
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

sweat
O.E. swætan "perspire, work hard." The noun is from O.E. swat "sweat" (which became M.E. swote, but altered under the influence of the verb), from P.Gmc. *swaita (cf. O.S., O.Fris. swet, O.N. sveiti, Dan. sved "sweat," Swed. svett, M.Du. sweet, Du. zweet, O.H.G. sweiz, Ger. Schweiß), from
EXPAND
PIE *sweid-/*swoid- (cf. Skt. svedah "sweat," Avestan xvaeda- "sweat," Gk. hidros "sweat, perspiration," L. sudor, Lett. swiedri, Welsh chwys "sweat"). Meaning "to be worried, vexed" is recorded from c.1400. Sweatshirt first recorded 1929; sweatpants is from 1957. Sweat equity is from 1968.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

sweat (swět)
v. sweat·ed or sweat, sweat·ing, sweats
To excrete perspiration through the pores in the skin; perspire. n.

  1. The colorless saline moisture excreted by the sweat glands; perspiration.

  2. The process of sweating.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
sweat   (swět)  Pronunciation Key 
The salty liquid given off by sweat glands in the skin of mammals. As sweat evaporates, the skin cools, causing a reduction in body heat.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary

sweat definition


  1. tv. & in.
    to fret (about something) while waiting for an outcome. : This whole promotion business really has me sweating.
  2. n.
    trouble; bother. (See also no sweat.) : I can handle it. It won't cause me any sweat.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

sweat bullets definition


  1. tv.
    to suffer about something; to be anxious or nervous about something; to sweat blood. : The kid sat in the waiting room, sweating bullets while the surgeons worked on his brother.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

sweat bullets

Perspire profusely; also, suffer mental anguish. For example, We were sweating bullets, sitting in the sun through all those graduation speeches, or It was their first baby, and David was sweating bullets while Karen was in labor. The bullets in this expression allude to drops of perspiration the size of bullets. [Slang; mid-1900s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Partners:WordBloglinesCitysearchThe Daily BeastAsk AnswersAsk KidsLife123SendoriThesaurus
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
About Privacy Policy Terms of Use API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Help
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT