swell
verb /swel/ (swelled, swollen or swelled)Definition
C2 [I or T] to become larger and rounder than usual; to (cause to) increase in size or amount: It was obvious she had broken her toe, because it immediately started to swell (up). 25 employees have joined the union in this month alone, swelling its ranks (= increasing its size) to 110.literary His heart/breast swelled with pride (= he felt very proud) as he stood watching his son graduate.Enlarging and inflatingBecoming biggerBecoming biggerEnlarging and inflating › [I] If music swells, it becomes louder.Playing musicSinging in general
(Definition of swell verb from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus
© Cambridge University Press)
Browse related topics
You are looking at an entry to do with Becoming bigger, but you might be interested in these topics from the Size and quantity topic area:
- Also, extra, and in addition
- Augmenting and supplementing
- Available and accessible
- Becoming and making smaller or less
- Big and quite big
- Enlarging and inflating
- Enormous
- Enough
- Extremely small
- General words for size and amount
- Increasing and intensifying
- Large in number or quantity
- Masses and large amounts of things
- Maximum and minimum
- Medium-sized
- Merely and barely
- Plenty and abundant
- Scarce, inadequate and not enough
- Small
- Small in number and quantity
- Some and quite
- Someone, anyone, no one or everyone
- Something, anything, nothing, and everything
- Things collected in lines or rings
- Things remaining
- Too much and unnecessary
- Unavailable and inaccessible
- Unlimited
- Words meaning small pieces and amounts
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SMART Thesaurus
Synonyms and related words:
- accrual noun
- accrue verb
- balloon verb
- billow verb
- bloat verb
- bloated adjective (SWOLLEN)
- broaden out phrasal verb
- build (sb/sth) up phrasal verb
- enlarge verb
- enlargement noun
- expansion noun
- extend verb (INCREASE)
- extend verb (STRETCH)
- grow out of sth phrasal verb (CLOTHES)
- grow up phrasal verb (CITY)
- lengthen verb
- outgrow verb (SIZE)
- puff sth up phrasal verb
- put sth on phrasal verb (GET HEAVIER)
- stretch verb (MAKE LONGER)
Topic:
Becoming bigger
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