Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

sweater

/ˈswɛtɚ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.78 in modern English

Syllables: sweat-er
IPA: /ˈswɛtɚ/

10

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A knitted jacket or jersey, usually of thick wool, worn by athletes before or after exercise.

noun

A similar garment worn for warmth.

American usage

noun

One who sweats (produces sweat).

noun

One who or that which causes to sweat.

noun

A diaphoretic remedy.

noun

An exploitative middleman who subcontracted piece work in the tailoring trade.

noun

One who sweats coins, i.e. removes small portions by shaking them.

Archaic

noun

A London street ruffian in Queen Anne's time who prodded passers-by with his sword-point.

British usage; Obsolete

Example Sentences

"We could slip away / Wouldn't that be better? / Me with nothing to say / And you in your autumn sweater"
"The cardiologist who administered Alex's exercise stress test on August 21 observed during that test that Alex was a profuse sweater."
"We learn of the cruelty of some school or child-factory from journalists; we learn it from inspectors, we learn it from doctors, we learn it even from shame-stricken schoolmasters and repentant sweaters; but we never learn it from the children; we never learn it from the victims."
"If the piecework system had not existed there never would have been any sweatees. The men who are sweaters, I am sorry to say, are men who formerly belonged to our union."
"Among them were the "sweaters" who formed a circle round their prisoner and pricked him with their swords until he sank exhausted to the ground, […]"

Etymology

From Middle English swētere, equivalent to sweat + -er.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: swētere

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈswɛtɚ/
British English: /ˈswɛtə/

Usage

Inflected Forms

sweaters (plural) sweaters (present, singular) sweatering (participle, present) sweatered (participle, past) sweatered (past)

Derived Forms

sweaterdress sweaterless sweaterlike sweatermaker sweatery

Phrases

Bill Cosby sweater Cosby sweater polo-necked sweater polo neck sweater sweater curse sweater dress sweater-dress sweater girl

Frequently Paired Words

sweatee

Synonyms

sweatshirt jumper pullover jersey cardigan wooly perspirer exploiter

Rhymes With

better letter debtor setter wetter petr getter petter vetter netter petre fetter

Questions

How do you pronounce sweater?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈswɛtɚ/.
What does sweater mean?: A knitted jacket or jersey, usually of thick wool, worn by athletes before or after exercise.
Where does sweater come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce sweater

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “sweater”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈswɛtɚ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “sweater”.
Repeat and practice — Say “sweater” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.