sweat
  Pronunciation: (swet), [key]    — v., n., adj. sweat sweat•ed, sweat•ing, 
  
 
—v.i. - to perspire, esp. freely or profusely.  
- to exude moisture, as green plants piled in a heap or cheese.  
- to gather moisture from the surrounding air by condensation.  
- (of moisture or liquid) to ooze or be exuded.  
- to work hard.  
- to experience distress, as from anxiety.  
- (of tobacco) to ferment.  
 
—v.t. - to excrete (perspiration, moisture, etc.) through the pores of the skin.  
- to exude in drops or small particles: The drying figs sweat tiny drops of moisture. 
- to send forth or get rid of with or like perspiration (often fol. by out or off).  
- to wet or stain with perspiration.  
- to cause (a person, a horse, etc.) to perspire.  
- to cause to exude moisture, esp. as a step in an industrial drying process: to sweat wood. 
- to earn, produce, or obtain (a result, promotion, compliment, etc.) by hard work.  
- to cause to lose (weight) as by perspiring or hard work: The hard week's work sweated five pounds off him. 
- to cause, force, or bring pressure on (a person, an animal, etc.) to work hard.  
- to employ (workers) at low wages, for long hours, or under other unfavorable conditions.  
- to labor with meticulous care over: The manufacturer of this beautiful car has really sweated the details. 
-   
 -  to obtain or extort (money) from someone. 
-  to extort money from; fleece. 
- to subject to severe questioning; give the third degree to.  
-   
 -  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. 
- to remove bits of metal from (gold coins) by shaking them against one another, as in a bag. Cf. (def. 4).  
- to cause (tobacco or cocoa) to ferment.  
- with no difficulty or problem.  
-  He was sweating blood while she was in the operating room. 
 -  to be under a strain; work strenuously. 
-  to wait anxiously; worry:He was sweating blood while she was in the operating room. 
-  There was no news of survivors, so all we could do was 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. 
-  The accused sweated out the jury's deliberation. 
 -  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. - the process of sweating or perspiring.  
- that which is secreted from sweat glands; perspiration.  
- a state or a period of sweating.  
- hard work.  
- a state of anxiety or impatience.  
- a process of inducing sweating or perspiration, or of being sweated, as in medical treatment.  
- moisture exuded from something or gathered on a surface.  
- an exuding of moisture, as by a substance.  
- an inducing of such exudation, as in some industrial process.  
- a run given to a horse for exercise, as before a race.  
- sweatpants, sweatshirts, sweat suits, or the like.  
 
—adj. -  sweat dresses. 
 -  (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. 
 
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.