well

1 of 5

noun

1
a
: an issue of water from the earth : a pool fed by a spring
b
2
a
: a pit or hole sunk into the earth to reach a supply of water
b
: a shaft or hole sunk to obtain oil, brine, or gas
3
a
: an enclosure in the middle of a ship's hold to protect from damage and facilitate the inspection of the pumps
b
: a compartment in the hold of a fishing boat in which fish are kept alive
4
: an open space extending vertically through floors of a structure
5
a
: a space having a construction or shape suggesting a well for water
b
: the area behind a bar in which items used most frequently by a bartender are kept
6
a
: something resembling a well in being damp, cool, deep, or dark
b
: a deep vertical hole
c
: a source from which something may be drawn as needed
7
: a pronounced minimum of a variable in physics
a potential well

well

2 of 5

verb

welled; welling; wells

intransitive verb

1
: to rise to the surface and usually flow forth
tears welled from her eyes
2
: to rise like a flood of liquid
longing welled up in his breast

transitive verb

: to emit in a copious free flow

well

3 of 5

adverb

better ˈbe-tər How to pronounce well (audio) ; best ˈbest How to pronounce well (audio)
1
a
: in a good or proper manner : justly, rightly
b
: satisfactorily with respect to conduct or action
did well in math
works well under pressure
2
: in a kindly or friendly manner
spoke well of your idea
wished them well
3
a
: with skill or aptitude : expertly, excellently
paints well
b
: satisfactorily
the plan worked well
c
: with good appearance or effect : elegantly
carried himself well
4
: with careful or close attention : attentively
watch well what I do
5
: to a high degree
well deserved the honor
a well-equipped kitchen
often used as an intensifier or qualifier
there are … vacancies pretty well all the timeListener
6
: fully, quite
well worth the price
7
a
: in a way appropriate to the facts or circumstances : fittingly, rightly
well said
b
: in a prudent manner : sensibly
used with do
you would do well to reread the material
8
: in accordance with the occasion or circumstances : with propriety or good reason
cannot well refuse
the decision may well be questioned
9
a
: as one could wish : pleasingly
the idea didn't sit well with her
b
: with material success : advantageously
married well
10
a
: easily, readily
could well afford a new car
b
: in all likelihood : indeed
it may well be true
11
: in a prosperous or affluent manner
he lives well
12
: to an extent approaching completeness : thoroughly
after being well dried with a towel
13
: without doubt or question : clearly
well knew the penalty
14
: in a familiar manner
knew her well
15
: to a large extent or degree : considerably, far
well over a million
Good vs. Well: Usage Guide

Adverbial good has been under attack from the schoolroom since the 19th century. Insistence on well rather than good has resulted in a split in connotation: well is standard, neutral, and colorless, while good is emotionally charged and emphatic. This makes good the adverb of choice in sports.

"I'm seeing the ball real good" is what you hear Roger Angell

In such contexts as

listen up. And listen good Alex Karras
lets fly with his tomatoes before they can flee. He gets Clarence good Charles Dickinson

good cannot be adequately replaced by well. Adverbial good is primarily a spoken form; in writing it occurs in reported and fictional speech and in generally familiar or informal contexts.

well

4 of 5

interjection

1
used to indicate resumption of discourse or to introduce a remark
they are, well, not quite what you'd expect
2
used to express surprise or expostulation
well, what have we here?

well

5 of 5

adjective

1
b
: being in satisfactory condition or circumstances
2
: being in good standing or favor
3
: satisfactory, pleasing
all's well that ends well
4
: advisable, desirable
it might be well for you to leave
5
a
: free or recovered from infirmity or disease : healthy
he's not a well man
b
: completely cured or healed
the wound is nearly well
6
: pleasing or satisfactory in appearance
our garden looks wellConrad Aiken
7
: being a cause for thankfulness : fortunate
it is well that this has happened
8
of liquor : used for making mixed drinks when no branded alcohol is specified
also : made with well liquor
a well drink
Good vs. Well: Usage Guide

An old notion that it is wrong to say "I feel good" in reference to health still occasionally appears in print. The origins of this notion are obscure, but they seem to combine someone's idea that good should be reserved to describe virtue and uncertainty about whether an adverb or an adjective should follow feel. Today nearly everyone agrees that both good and well can be predicate adjectives after feel. Both are used to express good health, but good may connote good spirits in addition to good health.

Phrases
as well
1
: in addition : also
there were other features as well
2
: to the same extent or degree : as much
open as well to the poor as to the rich
3
: with equivalent, comparable, or more favorable effect
might just as well have stayed home
Choose the Right Synonym for well

healthy, sound, wholesome, robust, hale, well mean enjoying or indicative of good health.

healthy implies full strength and vigor as well as freedom from signs of disease.

a healthy family

sound emphasizes the absence of disease, weakness, or malfunction.

a sound heart

wholesome implies appearance and behavior indicating soundness and balance.

a face with a wholesome glow

robust implies the opposite of all that is delicate or sickly.

a lively, robust little boy

hale applies particularly to robustness in old age.

still hale at the age of eighty

well implies merely freedom from disease or illness.

she has never been a well person

Examples of well in a Sentence

Noun his quirkily dysfunctional family proved to be a bottomless well of inspiration for the novelist the spot where the spring bubbles up to the surface and forms a deep well Adverb “How did everything go?” “It went well, thank you.” She works well under pressure. I did surprisingly well on my history test. The company is doing well. He has his own business and is doing well for himself. You got a perfect score! Well done! She sings and plays the guitar quite well. The essay is well written. He doesn't smoke or drink, and he eats well. She doesn't treat her boyfriend very well. Adjective The children are well again. I don't feel very well. You don't look so well. I hope you get well soon. I hope all is well with you and your family.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Some 1,783 private drinking water wells in northern Kent County were tested for PFAS by September 2018. Keith Matheny, Detroit Free Press, 4 Mar. 2024 Many residents saw contamination in their drinking water wells from coal ash in an unlined landfill in the town more than 20 years ago. Sarah Bowman, The Indianapolis Star, 23 Feb. 2024 The pit was used as a well for malting and brewing beer until the end of the third century, when passersby began contributing small objects as sacrifices. Catherine Duncan, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Feb. 2024 Maryland regulators recommend that owners of wells with levels higher than the EPA standard install treatment technology or switch to public water. Christine Condon, Baltimore Sun, 15 Feb. 2024 The estate’s gardens, which include an evergreen swath of artificial grass, are irrigated by private wells. Mark David, Robb Report, 22 Feb. 2024 Maryland regulators also are considering requiring PFAS testing before new wells can be brought online. Christine Condon, Baltimore Sun, 15 Feb. 2024 And those who have septic systems or wells should be aware of potential damage to underground equipment by parking vehicles on the lawn. Craig Webb, The Enquirer, 15 Feb. 2024 Share this article Newsletter Get Quanta Magazine delivered to your inbox Recent newsletters Introduction These regulatory wells are made from decidedly odd stretches of DNA. Philip Ball, Quanta Magazine, 14 Feb. 2024
Verb
Speaking about the electoral process at one point, her eyes welled with tears. Ariane Lange, Sacramento Bee, 5 Mar. 2024 Tears welled up in my goggles, pooling at the soft rim of the face cushion. Lauren Goode, WIRED, 22 Feb. 2024 Most oceanic islands are volcanic, formed by magma that wells up as tectonic plates drift over hot spots in the Earth’s mantle. Frank Hulley-Jones, Washington Post, 17 Nov. 2023 Thinking about my mother, at home without me, sent me into paroxysms of tears – big, rolling sobs that welled up from someplace deep and uncharted. Various Staff Writers, Special Correspondents, and Special Contributors, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 Dec. 2023 Shock, bewilderment, a slight nausea, a sudden urge to fight back the tears that welled in my eyes. Ruby Namdar, The Atlantic, 8 Oct. 2023 She was visibly shaken, with tears welling in her eyes. Cheyenne Haslett, ABC News, 5 Dec. 2023 Dunn recalls one tester’s eyes welling up with tears after the performance. Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 17 Nov. 2023 Noticing the tears welling up in my eyes, Chrisple Sikawa, my guide from Usawa mobile camp, offered the salve of logic. Jackie Caradonio, Travel + Leisure, 21 Sep. 2023
Adverb
But before Zone, the 45-year-old German actor was best known for playing famed anti-Nazi resistance fighter Georg Elser in 13 Minutes, Oliver Hirschbiegel’s 2015 drama about Elsner’s attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1939, before World War II and before the Holocaust. Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Mar. 2024 But that’s something Congress has been well aware of for some time. Bryan Mena, CNN, 8 Mar. 2024 Levy is humble about how much of himself and his humor made that role successful, but no one recognized it better than his son. Hunter Ingram, Variety, 8 Mar. 2024 The production of the spirit has been modernized in recent years, but the absinthe itself remains a stalwart in the category that works just as well sipped with some water and sugar or used in any cocktail. Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 8 Mar. 2024 But in Kansas and Missouri, possessions like vehicles, machinery, and even your crops and livestock are taxed as well. Natalie Wallington, Kansas City Star, 8 Mar. 2024 Alan Blaylock, a Fort Worth city council member and newcomer to the appraisal district board, said the cosmetics of the website are improved but that many changes to the back end are important as well. Noah Alcala Bach, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Mar. 2024 So Daniel and Ginn are well qualified to opine on the popularity of this irreverent 13-year-old play by Robert Askins. David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Mar. 2024 But what’s more important than their red carpet debut is Good’s banging physique, as the actress never looked better. Dominique Fluker, Essence, 8 Mar. 2024
Interjection
There is definitely competition; well, not so much competition, as a lot of options. Kristine M. Kierzek, Journal Sentinel, 8 Mar. 2024 The pants, however, are also see-through, which is something even MLB’s biggest stars are having a hard time getting, well, behind. Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 23 Feb. 2024 But her one-woman show, Kate, which came to Los Angeles last month (well, technically Pasadena) after previous runs in New York and London, is deeply concerned with questions of artistic lies and emotional truth. Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 15 Feb. 2024 To abandon that target now would be to admit that the Fed will allow itself to be swayed by, well, nothing — unemployment remains low, and there hasn’t been a recession. The Editors, National Review, 14 Feb. 2024 In the day leading up the EPs release, Petras released two more NSFW teaser videos that, well, see for yourself. Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 14 Feb. 2024 Liberals find the state too expensive and unsuitable for raising a family; conservatives disapprove of, well, almost everything. Anthony De Leon, Los Angeles Times, 14 Feb. 2024 If the strategy sounds different, well, so is almost everything else about this series and its subsequent success. Lacey Rose, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Feb. 2024 And celebrated bartenders think that the difference between Kuramoto ice and U.S. ice is, well, clear. Tori Latham, Robb Report, 1 Feb. 2024
Adjective
Confidence: Medium-High A look ahead Most showers are well to our north and south on Saturday, but clouds should still be plentiful. David Streit, Washington Post, 30 Nov. 2023 Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers and hope to see you soon. Ingrid Vasquez, Peoplemag, 13 Oct. 2023 This was not the first time Burgess mentioned how well life with their blended family is going. Daniel S. Levine, Peoplemag, 18 July 2023 In addition to the state-of-the-art tailgating zone, Cindy and her family received some well wishes from former Jets running back Curtis Martin. Ally Mauch, PEOPLE.com, 25 Aug. 2020 Grateful for all the well wishes.... Philip Ellis, Men's Health, 10 Apr. 2023 Thanks to Chris & everyone for the well wishes. Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 9 Apr. 2023 Rumors of behind-the-scenes friction have been circulating since February—in particular regarding the show's star Kevin Costner and Sheridan—and to some, the failure to appear seemed like yet another indicator that all is not well with the ranching drama. Lauren Hubbard, Town & Country, 7 Apr. 2023 Seth Meyers stopped by Studio 8H to offer well wishes. Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 1 Apr. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'well.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English welle, wille "spring of water, pool formed by a spring, pit sunk into the earth to reach water," going back to Old English wælle (Anglian), wiell, wielle (West Saxon, later wille, wylle), going back to a Germanic base *waln(j)- (also *walj-?) with varying stem formations (whence also Old Frisian walla "spring, source," Middle Dutch wal, walle "a seething, boiling heat, spring or river of seething water") and with e-grade ablaut Old High German wella "wave, tide," Old Icelandic vella "boiling, bubbling mass," all nominal derivatives from the base of Germanic *walla- "to well up, seethe, bubble" — more at well entry 2

Note: Comparable nominal formations from Indo-European *u̯el(H)- "seethe, bubble" with zero-grade ablaut are Old Church Slavic vlĭna "wave," Russian volná (< *u̯l̥H-neh2), Lithuanian vilnìs "wave" (< *u̯l̥H-ni-), Sanskrit ūrmí- "wave" (< *u̯l̥H-mi-).

Verb

Middle English wellen "to rise to the surface, bubble up, boil, seethe," probably in part verbal derivative of welle "spring of water, well entry 1," in part adaptation of the transitive verb wellen "to boil, curdle, melt (metal), refine," going back to Old English wellan, wyllan (< *wiellan) "to cause to boil," probably going back to Germanic *wall(j)an- (whence also Middle Dutch & Middle High German wellen "to make boil," Old Icelandic vella), causative from *wallan- "to well up, seethe, bubble," Class VII strong verb (whence Old English weallan "to boil, bubble up," Old Frisian walla, Old Saxon wallan "to blaze, boil up, well up," Old High German, "to boil up, well up"), a Germanic verbal base of uncertain origin, seen also with a zero-grade present without gemination in Gothic wulan "to seethe, spread (of an ulcer)"

Note: Both the Middle English Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary, third edition (OED), treat the two Middle English verbs wellen as simply the same verb; compare, however, J. de Vries (Nederlands Etymologisch Woordenboek), who treats Dutch wellen "to bubble up" (opborrelen) and wellen "to make boil, hammer white-hot metal together" (doen koken, gloeiende metalen aaneenhameren) in separate articles. The OED asserts that there is a range of dialect attestation of the verb (wællan, wellan, willan, wyllan), apparently on the basis of the few forms given in the citations (the imperatives wel, wyl and wæl in recipes): "In Old English the verb shows the expected reflex of the i-mutation of early Old English æ (West Germanic a) before ll, depending on dialect." But if this statement is based on a reconstruction of the immediate pre-Old English form and inflection of the verb, or its West Germanic predecessor, no such reconstruction is given. The etymology itself merely lists a group of supposed Germanic cognates, summarized by the statement "a causative formation < the same Germanic base as wall v.1 [i.e., Old English weallan]." — In addition to *wallan-, Germanic has an apparent e-grade strong verb *wellan-, seen in Old Saxon and Old High German biwellan "to stain, besmirch," Old Icelandic vella "to well over, boil," and probably Old English wollentēar "with streaming tears." Along with a series of nominal formations outside Germanic based on a zero-grade *u̯l̥H- (see note at well entry 1), the Germanic verbs would lead to an Indo-European base *u̯el(H)- "seethe, bubble." Some have seen this etymon as identical with a homonymous base meaning "to roll" (see welter entry 1), the view of H. Rix, et al. (Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2. Auflage, Wiesbaden, 2001). E. Seebold, on the other hand (Vergleichendes und etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen starken Verben, Mouton, 1970, p. 552) thinks the connection in sense is not so easily explained ("Wie diese Bedeutungsvielfalt zu erklären ist, bleibt unklar"; likewise Kluge-Seebold, 22. Auflage, s.v. wallen). Seebold points to the proximity of form and identical meaning of Lithuanian vérda, vìrti "to boil, seethe," Old Church Slavic vĭrěti.

Adverb

Middle English wel, going back to Old English, going back to Germanic *welō (whence Old Frisian wol, wel, wal "in a good manner," Old Saxon wola, wela, wala, Old High German wola, Old Norse vel, val), from an adjectival derivative of the base of *weljan- "to want" — more at will entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Adverb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Interjection

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of well was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near well

Cite this Entry

“Well.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/well. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

well

1 of 5 noun
1
: a source of supply
was a well of information
2
: a hole made in the earth to reach a natural deposit (as of water, oil, or gas)
3
: an open space extending up through floors of a structure (as for a staircase)
4
: something suggesting a well

well

2 of 5 verb
: to rise to the surface and flow out

well

3 of 5 adverb
better ˈbet-ər How to pronounce well (audio) ; best ˈbest How to pronounce well (audio)
1
: so as to be right : in a satisfactory way
did well on the test
2
: in a friendly or generous way
they always speak well of you
3
: in a skillful or expert manner
plays the trumpet well
4
: by as much as possible : completely
we are well aware of the problem
5
: with reason or courtesy
cannot well refuse
6
: in such a way as to be pleasing : as one would wish
everything has gone well this week
7
: without trouble
we could well afford it
8
: in a thorough manner
shake well before using
9
: in a familiar manner
knew them well
10
: by quite a lot
was well ahead
well over a million

well

4 of 5 interjection
1
used to begin a conversation or continue one that was interrupted
2
used to express surprise or doubt

well

5 of 5 adjective
1
: being in a satisfactory or good state
all is well
2
: free or recovered from ill health : healthy
he's not a well man
3
: fortunate sense 1
it was well that we left

Medical Definition

well

adjective
1
: free or recovered from infirmity or disease : healthy
a well person
2
: completely cured or healed
the wound is nearly well

More from Merriam-Webster on well

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