1
general::
Phrase(s): sweat something out
1. Lit. to get rid of something in one’s body by sweating. • I have a bit of a cold, and I am going to try to sweat it out. • I took a steamy shower, trying to sweat out my cold. 2. Fig. to endure something unpleasant. • It was an ordeal, but I sweated it out. • I managed to sweat out the exam. 3. Fig. to endure suspense about something. • She sweated the two-hour wait out until she heard the results of her bar exams. • Karen sweated out the long wait peacefully.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
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Endure or await something anxiously, as in He sweated out that last final exam, or I don't know if I made the team? I'm still sweating it out. This idiom, often expanded to sweat it out, was first recorded in 1876.
American Heritage Idioms