well

• IPA^(key): /wɛl/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -ɛl

From Middle English wel, wal, wol, wele, from Old English wel, wæl, well (“well, abundantly, very, very easily, very much, fully, quite, nearly”), from Proto-Germanic *wela, *wala (“well”, literally “as wished, as desired”), from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- (“wish, desire”). Cognate with Scots wele, weil (“well”), North Frisian wel, weil, wal (“well”), West Frisian wol (“well”), Dutch wel (“well”), Low German wol (“well”), German wol, wohl (“well”), Norwegian and Danish vel (“well”), Swedish väl (“well”), Icelandic vel, val (“well”). Related to will.

• wall (dialectal)
• weel, weil (Scotland)
• welp (US, informal)

well (comparative better, superlative best)

1. (manner) Accurately, competently, satisfactorily.

   He does his job well.

   • 1852, Mrs M.A. Thompson, “The Tutor's Daughter”, in Graham's American Monthly Magazine of Literature, Art, and Fashion, page 266:

     In the lightness of my heart I sang catches of songs as my horse gayly bore me along the well-remembered road.

   • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:

     A chap named Eleazir Kendrick and I had chummed in together the summer afore and built a fish-weir and shanty at Setuckit Point, down Orham way. For a spell we done pretty well. Then there came a reg'lar terror of a sou'wester same as you don't get one summer in a thousand, and blowed the shanty flat and ripped about half of the weir poles out of the sand.

   • 2013 July 20, “Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:

     Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field.

   • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

     This day is not going well.

     Audio (US)

     (file)

2. (manner) Completely, fully.

   a well done steak

   We’re well beat now.

   • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter II, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, OCLC 639762314, page 0147:

     Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers, […]. Even such a boat as the Mount Vernon offered a total deck space so cramped as to leave secrecy or privacy well out of the question, even had the motley and democratic assemblage of passengers been disposed to accord either.

3. (degree) To a significant degree.

   That author is well known.

   • 1995 Feb, Luke Timothy Johnson, “The New Testament and the examined life: Thoughts on teaching”, in The Christian Century, volume 112, number 4, page 108:

     Indeed, some readers may feel that I am beating a horse now already well dead. But in fact, that dead horse is still being driven daily through the pages of introductory textbooks.

   • 2000, Colin Robinson, “Energy Economists and Economic Liberalism”, in Energy Journal, volume 21, number 2, page 1:

     Energy markets demonstrated in the 1970s and 1980s that they were well capable of adapting to a perceived scarcity.

   • 2006, Spider Robinson, Callahan's legacy:

     neither of us was paying attention to any damn imaginary scoring judges -- we were both well content, if a little fatigued.

4. (degree, Britain, slang) Very (as a general-purpose intensifier).
   • 1999, "Drummond Pearson", What Ash are doing right now... (on Internet newsgroup alt.music.ash)

     That guy rocks! I think he's called Matthew Lillard or sommat but he is well cool in Scream.

   • 2002, "jibaili", FIFA 2003 How is it? (on Internet newsgroup microsoft.public.xbox)

     Hey Dude / FIFA 2003 is well wicked, I've got FIFA 2002 on PS2, David Beckham on Xbox and Football Manager on Xbox too, out of all pf^[sic] them FIFA 2003 is easliy^[sic] the best.

   • 2003, Steve Eddy, Empower, Book 2

     Hey, you should've seen it, it was well good.

5. In a desirable manner; so as one could wish; satisfactorily; favourably; advantageously.
   • (Can we date this quote?) John Dryden

     It boded well to you.

   • (Can we date this quote?) John Milton

     Know / In measure what the mind may well contain.

   • (Can we date this quote?) Alexander Pope

     All the world speaks well of you.

well (comparative better, superlative best)

1. In good health.

   I had been sick, but now I'm well.

2. (hypercorrect) Good, content.

   “How are you?” — “I'm well, thank you!”

3. (archaic) Prudent; good; well-advised.
   • 1897, National Association of Railway Surgeons, Railway surgeon, page 191:

     On leaving the operating table it is well to put the patient in a bed previously warmed and supplied with hot cans.

• full well
• get well
• oh, well
• well-being

well

1. Used to acknowledge a statement or situation.
   • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 5, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:

     “Well,” I says, “I cal'late a body could get used to Tophet if he stayed there long enough.” ¶ She flared up; the least mite of a slam at Doctor Wool was enough to set her going.

   “The car is broken.” “Well, we could walk to the movies instead.”

   “I didn't like the music.” “Well, I thought it was good.”

   “I forgot to pack the tent! Well, I guess we're sleeping under the stars tonight.”

2. An exclamation of surprise, often doubled or tripled.

   Well, well, well, what do we have here?

3. An exclamation of indignance.

   Well! There was no need to say that in front of my mother!

4. Used in speech to express the overcoming of reluctance to say something.
   • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 4, in The Celebrity:

     “Well,” I answered, at first with uncertainty, then with inspiration, “he would do splendidly to lead your cotillon, if you think of having one.” ¶ “So you do not dance, Mr. Crocker?” ¶ I was somewhat set back by her perspicuity.

   It was a bit... well... too loud.

5. Used in speech to fill gaps, particularly at the beginning of a response to a question; filled pause.

   “So what have you been doing?” “Well, we went for a picnic, and then it started raining so we came home early.”

   • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

     Well, I am sorry. - It’s okay, Anna.

     Audio (US)

     (file)

6. (Hiberno-English) Used as a greeting

   Well lads. How's things?

• (reluctance): like, you know
• (filled pause): I mean, like
• (acknowledgment of previous statement): so
• (indignant): see, look, as if

• well, well
• welp

From Middle English welle, from Old English wielle (“well”), from Proto-Germanic *wallijǭ (“well, swirl, wave”), from Proto-Indo-European *wel- (“to turn; wind; roll”). Cognate with West Frisian wel (“well”), Dutch wel (“well”), German Low German Well (“well”), German Welle (“wave”), Danish væld (“well; spring”), Swedish väl (“well”), Icelandic vella (“boiling; bubbling; eruption”).

well (plural wells)

1. A hole sunk into the ground as a source of water, oil, natural gas or other fluids.
   • Bible, John iv. 11

     The woman said unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep.

2. A place where a liquid such as water surfaces naturally; a spring.
   • Milton

     Begin, then, sisters of the sacred well.

3. A small depression suitable for holding liquid or other objects.

   Make a well in the dough mixture and pour in the milk.

4. (figuratively) A source of supply.
   • Edmund Spenser

     Dan Chaucer, well of English undefiled

   • Keble

     a well of serious thought and pure

5. (nautical) A vertical, cylindrical trunk in a ship, reaching down to the lowest part of the hull, through which the bilge pumps operate.
6. (nautical) The cockpit of a sailboat.
7. (nautical) A compartment in the middle of the hold of a fishing vessel, made tight at the sides, but having holes perforated in the bottom to let in water to keep fish alive while they are transported to market.
8. (nautical) A vertical passage in the stern into which an auxiliary screw propeller may be drawn up out of the water.
9. (military) A hole or excavation in the earth, in mining, from which run branches or galleries.
10. (architecture) An opening through the floors of a building, as for a staircase or an elevator; a wellhole.
11. The open space between the bench and the counsel tables in a courtroom.
12. (metalworking) The lower part of a furnace, into which the metal falls.
13. A well drink.

    They're having a special tonight: $1 wells.

14. (video games) The playfield of Tetris and similar video games, into which the blocks fall.
    • 2005, James Paul Gee, Why Video Games are Good for Your Soul

      Tetris, the most widely played computer game of all time, is a problem-solving puzzle game. […] The player attempts to lock the falling shape smoothly together with the shapes in the well.

15. (biology) In a microtiter plate, each of the small equal circular or square sections which serve as test tubes.

• (excavation in the earth, from which run branches or galleries): shaft

From Middle English wellen, from Old English willan, wyllan, wellan (“to boil; bubble forth”) and Old English weallan (“to well; bubble forth; spring out; flow”), from Proto-Germanic *wallijaną, *wallaną. Cognate with German wallen (“boil, seethe”), Danish vælde (“gush”), Norwegian Nynorsk vella and outside Germanic, with Albanian valë (“hot, boiling”).

well (third-person singular simple present wells, present participle welling, simple past and past participle welled)

1. (intransitive) To issue forth, as water from the earth; to flow; to spring.
   • Dryden

     [Blood] welled from out the wound.

   • Bryant

     [Yon spring] wells softly forth.

2. (intransitive) To have something seep out of the surface.

   Her eyes welled with tears.

• upwell

well

1. Imperative singular of wellen.
2. (colloquial) First-person singular present of wellen.

Cognate with German weil.

• IPA^(key): /væl/
• Rhymes: -æl
• Homophone: Well

well

1. because

   Ech gi geschwënn um Bett, well ech midd sinn.

   I'm going to bed soon because I am tired.

well

1. Alternative form of wel

well

1. Alternative form of wel

• ƿell

From Proto-Germanic *wall-, whence also Old High German wella, Old Norse vella.

well m

1. well

• English: well

Compare German welch.

well

1. which

well

1. which

• (North Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈwɛɬ/
• (South Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈweːɬ/, /ˈwɛɬ/

well

1. Soft mutation of gwell.

well

1. Soft mutation of gwell.