[swet-er] 
| 1. | a knitted jacket or jersey, in pullover or cardigan style, with or without sleeves. |
| 2. | a person or thing that sweats. |
| 3. | an employer who underpays and overworks employees. |
| 4. | of, for, or pertaining to a sweater: sweater yarn; sweater fashions. |
| 5. | made like a sweater: a sweater dress. |
[swet] verb, sweat or sweat⋅ed, sweat⋅ing, noun, adjective | 1. | to perspire, esp. 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. |
| 6. | Informal. to experience distress, as from anxiety. |
| 7. | (of tobacco) to ferment. |
| 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 fol. by out or off). |
| 11. | to wet or stain with perspiration. |
| 12. | to cause (a person, a horse, etc.) to perspire. |
| 13. | to cause to exude moisture, esp. 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.
|
| 20. | Slang. to subject to severe questioning; give the third degree to. |
| 21. | Metallurgy.
|
| 22. | to remove bits of metal from (gold coins) by shaking them against one another, as in a bag. Compare clip 1 (def. 4). |
| 23. | to cause (tobacco or cocoa) to ferment. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 35. | Informal.
|
| 36. | sweat out, Informal.
|
| 37. | no sweat, Informal. with no difficulty or problem. |
| 38. | sweat blood, Informal.
|
| 39. | sweat bullets, Informal.
|
| 40. | sweat it, Informal.
|
s
| sweat·er (swět'ər) n.
|
sweat
|
sweat (swět)
v. sweat·ed or sweat, sweat·ing, sweats
To excrete perspiration through the pores in the skin; perspire. n.
The colorless saline moisture excreted by the sweat glands; perspiration.
The process of sweating.
sweater
outer garment, usually knitted or crocheted, that is worn on the upper part of the body, either pulled over the head or buttoned down the front or back. Although hand knitting of wool had been practiced for about 2,000 years, it was not until the 15th century that the first knitted shirts or tunics were produced on the English Channel islands of Guernsey and Jersey; hence the English name jersey. The knitted garments were made by the wives of fishermen and sailors from natural wool, which, by retaining its oil, protected against the cold even when damp. The use of the jersey spread throughout Europe, especially among workingmen. In the 1890s it was adopted by athletes in the United States and called a sweater.
Learn more about sweater with a free trial on Britannica.com.
