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sweater

 - 9 dictionary results

sweat⋅er

[swet-er]
–noun
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.
–adjective
4. of, for, or pertaining to a sweater: sweater yarn; sweater fashions.
5. made like a sweater: a sweater dress.

Origin:
1520–30 for def. 2; 1880–85 for def. 1; sweat + -er 1

sweat

[swet] verb, sweat or sweat⋅ed, sweat⋅ing, noun, adjective
–verb (used without object)
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.
–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 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.
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 clip 1 (def. 4).
23. to cause (tobacco or cocoa) to ferment.
–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.
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.
–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.
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.
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:
bef. 900; 1970–75 for def. 6; (v.) ME sweten, OE swǣtan to sweat, deriv. of swāt (n.) (> obs. E swote); (n.) ME, alter. of swote, influenced by the v.; c. D zweet, G Schweiss, ON sveiti, Skt svedas; akin to L sūdor, Gk hidrs


sweatless, adjective


24. See perspiration.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To sweater
sweat·er   (swět'ər)   
n.  
  1. A jacket or pullover made especially of knit, crocheted, or woven wool, cotton, or synthetic yarn.

  2. One that sweats, especially profusely.

  3. Something that induces sweating; a sudorific.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
sweat

  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.
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Word Origin & History

sweat  (v.)
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 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.

sweater 
"woolen vest or jersey, originally worn in rowing," 1882, from earlier sweaters "clothing worn to produce sweating and reduce weight" (1828), from sweat (v.). As a fashion garment, attested from 1925. Sweater girl is attested from 1940; Lana Turner (1920-95) was the first, from her appearance in the film "They Won't Forget" (1937).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 2sweat
Function: noun
1 : the fluid excreted from the sweat glands of the skin : PERSPIRATION
2 : abnormally profuse sweating —often used in plural sweats> —sweaty /-E/ adjective sweat·i·er; -est
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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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.
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Encyclopedia

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.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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