sweat

UK: /ˈswɛt/ US: /swɛt/ ,(swet)

Inflections of 'sweat' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

Both "sweat" and "sweated" are correct as past forms for all senses. "Sweat" is sometimes considered to be more correct as the past form for literal senses to do with perspiration.

sweat

v 3rd person singular

sweating

v pres p

sweat

v past

sweated

v past

sweat

v past p

sweated

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

sweat /swɛt/   v., sweat or sweat•ed, sweat•ing, n. 
v. 

1. Physiology to perspire, esp. freely:
   [no object] He was sweating and his temperature was very high.
2. to gather moisture from the surrounding air by condensation:
   [no object] The cold glass was sweating in the hot room.
3. Informal Terms [no object]
   • to work hard.
   • to be anxious or distressed
4. Physiology [~ + object] to cause (a person, a horse, etc.) to perspire.
5. sweat off, to get rid of (weight) by or as if by sweating: [~ + off + object]
   trying to sweat off a few pounds.
   [~ + object + off]
   trying to sweat a few pounds off.
6. sweat out, [Informal.] to await anxiously the outcome of: [~ + out + object]
   The election is over; now we just have to sweat out the results.
   [~ + object + out]
   to sweat the ordeal out.

n. 

7. the moisture released from sweat glands;
   perspiration:
   [uncountable] Sweat was pouring down his face.
8. hard work:
   [uncountable] Blood, sweat, and tears went into this house.
9. Informal Terms a state of anxiety or impatience:
   [countable* usually singular] He was really in a sweat awaiting the results.
10. Informal Terms, Clothing sweats, [plural] sweatpants, sweatshirts, sweat suits, or the like.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

sweat  (swet), v., sweat or sweat•ed, sweat•ing, n., adj. 
v.i. 

1. Physiology 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 Terms to work hard.
6. Informal Terms to experience distress, as from anxiety.
7. (of tobacco) to ferment.

v.t. 

8. Physiology 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. Physiology 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. Physiology 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 Terms
    • to obtain or extort (money) from someone.
    • to extort money from;
      fleece.
20. Slang Terms to subject to severe questioning;
    give the third degree to.
21. Metallurgy
    • to heat (an alloy) in order to remove a constituent melting at a lower temperature than the alloy as a whole.
    • to heat (solder or the like) to melting.
    • 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. Cf. clip ¹ (def. 4).
23. to cause (tobacco or cocoa) to ferment.
24. Informal Terms no sweat, with no difficulty or problem.
25. Informal Terms sweat blood:
    • to be under a strain;
      work strenuously.
    • to wait anxiously;
      worry:
      He was sweating blood while his friend was being questioned by the police.
26. sweat bullets, [Informal.]
    • to sweat profusely.
    • to be apprehensive;
      worry.
27. Informal Terms sweat it:
    • to wait anxiously;
      endure the best way one can:
      There was no news of survivors, so all we could do was sweat it.
    • to worry;
      be apprehensive:
      You'll do OK, so don't sweat it.
28. Informal Terms sweat out:
    • to await anxiously the outcome of;
      endure apprehensively:
      The accused sweated out the jury's deliberation.
    • to work arduously at or toward:
      The director sweated out a camera angle with the cinematographer.

n. 

29. Physiology the process of sweating or perspiring.
30. Physiology that which is secreted from sweat glands;
    perspiration.
31. Physiology a state or a period of sweating.
32. hard work.
33. Informal Terms a state of anxiety or impatience.
34. a process of inducing sweating or perspiration, or of being sweated, as in medical treatment.
35. moisture exuded from something or gathered on a surface.
36. an exuding of moisture, as by a substance.
37. an inducing of such exudation, as in some industrial process.
38. a run given to a horse for exercise, as before a race.
39. Informal Terms, Clothing sweats, sweatpants, sweatshirts, sweat suits, or the like.

adj. 

40. Clothing, Informal Terms, Informal Terms [Informal.]
    • (of clothes) made to be worn for exercise, sports, or other physical activity.
    • made of the absorbent fabric used for such clothes:
      sweat dresses.
    • of, for, or associated with such clothes:
      the sweat look in sportswear.

• bef. 900; 1970–75 for def. 6; (verb, verbal) Middle English sweten, Old English swǣtan to sweat, derivative of swāt (noun, nominal) ( obsolete English swote); (noun, nominal) Middle English, alteration of swote, influenced by the verb, verbal; cognate with Dutch zweet, German Schweiss, Old Norse sveiti, Sanskrit svedas; akin to Latin sūdor, Greek hidró̄s

sweat′less, adj. 
Synonyms

• 29. See perspiration. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

sweat / swɛt/ noun

1. the secretion from the sweat glands, esp when profuse and visible, as during strenuous activity, from excessive heat, etc; commonly also called perspiration
2. the act or process of secreting this fluid
3. the act of inducing the exudation of moisture
4. drops of moisture given forth or gathered on the surface of something
5. a state or condition of worry or eagerness (esp in the phrase in a sweat)
6. drudgery or hard labour: mowing lawns is a real sweat!
7. a soldier, esp one who is old and experienced
8. no sweat! ⇒ (interjection) an expression suggesting that something can be done without problems or difficulty

verb (sweats, sweating, sweat, sweated)

1. to secrete (sweat) through the pores of the skin, esp profusely
2. (transitive) to make wet or stain with sweat
3. to give forth or cause to give forth (moisture) in droplets: a sweating cheese, the maple sweats sap
4. (intransitive) to collect and condense moisture on an outer surface: a glass of beer sweating in the sun
5. (intransitive) (of a liquid) to pass through a porous surface in droplets
6. (of tobacco leaves, cut and dried hay, etc) to exude moisture and, sometimes, begin to ferment or to cause (tobacco leaves, etc) to exude moisture
7. (transitive) to heat (food, esp vegetables) slowly in butter in a tightly closed saucepan
8. (transitive) to join (pieces of metal) by pressing together and heating
9. (transitive) to heat (solder) until it melts
10. (transitive) to heat (a partially fused metal) to extract an easily fusible constituent
11. to suffer anxiety, impatience, or distress
12. to overwork or be overworked
13. (transitive) to employ at very low wages and under bad conditions
14. (transitive) to extort, esp by torture: to sweat information out of a captive
15. (intransitive) to suffer punishment: you'll sweat for this!
16. sweat blood ⇒ to work very hard
17. to be filled with anxiety or impatience

See also hidrosisEtymology: Old English swætan to sweat, from swāt sweat; related to Old Saxon swēt, Old Norse sveiti, Old High German sweiz, Latin sūdor, Sanskrit svedas