Etimology
From Middle English wel, wal, wol, wele, from Old English wel (“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.
adverb
well (comparative better, superlative best)
(manner) Accurately, competently, satisfactorily.
(manner) Completely, fully.
(degree) To a significant degree.
(degree, British, slang) Very (as a general-purpose intensifier).
In a desirable manner; so as one could wish; satisfactorily; favourably; advantageously.
Examples
He does his job well.
In the lightness of my heart I sang catches of songs as my horse gayly bore me along the well-remembered road.
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.
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.
This day is not going well. Audio
Audio
a well done steak
We’re well beat now.
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.
That author is well known.
A monument well worth seeing
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.
Energy markets demonstrated in the 1970s and 1980s that they were well capable of adapting to a perceived scarcity.
neither of us was paying attention to any damn imaginary scoring judges -- we were both well content, if a little fatigued.
That guy rocks! I think he's called Matthew Lillard or sommat but he is well cool in Scream.
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.
Hey, you should've seen it, it was well good.
I'm glad Joe got fired last week. I think we're well rid of him.
Whatever now the omen prove, It boded well to you.
Know / In measure what the mind may well contain.
All the world speaks well of you.
My Son Johnny, named ſo after his Uncle, was at the Grammar School, and a towardly Child. My daughter Betty was then at her Needle-Work.
adjective
well (comparative better or weller, superlative best or wellest)
In good health.
(hypercorrect) Good, content.
(uncommon) Prudent; good; well-advised.
(archaic, now chiefly Bermuda) Good to eat; tasty, delicious.
Examples
I had been sick, but now I'm well.
Mr. Peng said that the world-famous scientist, Sven Hedin, was kidnapped by troops under General Ma in south Sinkiang, but was released later, and is believed to be safe and well at Akosu.
“How are you?” — “I'm well, thank you!”
Paulina. As she liu'd peerelesse,So her dead likenesse I doe well beleeueExcells what euer yet you look'd vpon,Or hand of Man hath done: therefore I keepe itLouely, apart. But here it is: prepareTo see the Life as liuely mock'd, as euerStill Sleepe mock'd Death: behold, and say 'tis well.
In this respect it would be well for you to depart from the standard format and to indicate why you did what you did.
When executing bone scan protocols, it is well for one to be aware of how key deviations from optimal technique can degrade image quality.
On leaving the operating table it is well to put the patient in a bed previously warmed and supplied with hot cans.
This wahoo tastes val.
Drunk, like, a gallon of orange mindral. Tasted wel.
interjection
well
Used to acknowledge a statement or situation.
An exclamation of sarcastic surprise (often doubled or tripled and spoken in a lowering intonation).
An exclamation of indignance.
Used in speech to express the overcoming of reluctance to say something.
Used in speech to fill gaps, particularly at the beginning of a response to a question; filled pause.
(Ireland) Used as a greeting, short for "Are you well?"
Used as a question to demand an answer from someone reluctant to answer.
Examples
“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.
“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.
If gold pleased the conqueror, well,That gold should be the one thingThe conqueror henceforth should lack.
Well, well, well, what do we have here?
Well! There was no need to say that in front of my mother!
“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.
“So what have you been doing?” “Well, we went for a picnic, and then it started raining so we came home early.”
Well, I am sorry. — It’s okay, Anna. Audio
Audio
Well lads. How's things?
And what do you think you're doing? ...Well?
Related words
synonyms
(reluctance): like, you know
(filled pause): I mean, like
(acknowledgment of previous statement): so
(indignant): see, look, as if
Etimology
From Middle English welle, from Old English wielle (“well”), from Proto-Germanic *wallijǭ (“well, swirl, wave”), from Proto-Indo-European *welH- (“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”).
noun
well (plural wells)
A hole sunk into the ground as a source of water, oil, natural gas or other fluids.
A place where a liquid such as water surfaces naturally; a spring.
A small depression suitable for holding liquid or other objects.
(figurative) A source of supply.
(nautical) A vertical, cylindrical trunk in a ship, reaching down to the lowest part of the hull, through which the bilge pumps operate.
(nautical) The cockpit of a sailboat.
(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.
(nautical) A vertical passage in the stern into which an auxiliary screw propeller may be drawn up out of the water.
(military) A hole or excavation in the earth, in mining, from which run branches or galleries.
(architecture) An opening through the floors of a building, as for a staircase or an elevator; a wellhole.
The open space between the bench and the counsel tables in a courtroom.
(metalworking) The lower part of a furnace, into which the metal falls.
A well drink.
(video games) The playfield of Tetris and similar video games, into which the blocks fall.
(biology) In a microtiter plate, each of the small equal circular or square sections which serve as test tubes.
(graphical user interface) The region of an interface that contains tabs.
Examples
The woman said unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep.
Begin, then, sisters of the sacred well.
Make a well in the dough mixture and pour in the milk.
Dan Chaucer, well of English undefyled
A well of serious thought and pure, / Too deep for earthly light.
They're having a special tonight: $1 wells.
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.
You can reposition the order of documents in the window by clicking and dragging the tabs, or you can drag a tab out of the well and view a document in its own floating window.
You should now have three documents open with their tabs showing in the tab well , as shown in the following screenshot: […]
Related words
synonyms
(excavation in the earth, from which run branches or galleries): shaft
Etimology
From Middle English wellen, from a merger of Old English weallan (intransitive) and wiellan (transitive), both meaning “to boil.” Further from Proto-Germanic *wallaną and *wallijaną. Doublet of wall. Cognate with German wallen (“boil, seethe”), Danish vælde (“gush”), Norwegian Nynorsk vella and outside Germanic, with Albanian valë (“hot, boiling”).
verb
well (third-person singular simple present wells, present participle welling, simple past and past participle welled)
(intransitive) To issue forth, as water from the earth; to flow; to spring.
(intransitive) To have something seep out of the surface.
Examples
[Blood] welled from out the wound.
[Yon spring] wells softly forth.
Her eyes welled with tears.