welter

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A confused mass; a jumble: a welter of papers and magazines.
2. n. Confusion; turmoil.
3. v. To wallow, roll, or toss about, as in mud or high seas.
4. v. To lie soaked in a liquid.
5. v. To roll and surge, as the sea.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. In glove-manuf., one who puts the welting in the seams and sews them up.
2. To roll or toss; tumble about; flow or act waveringly, confusedly, or tumultuously: used chiefly of waves, or of things comparable to them.
3. To roll about, as in some fluid or unstable medium; be tossed or tumbled; hence, to wallow or grovel (in something).
4. To be exposed to or affected by some weltering or floating substance or medium: said of objects at rest.
5. To roll; cause to turn or revolve.
6. To subject to or affect by weltering; accomplish by or as if by wallowing.
7. n. Rolling or wallowing motion; a tossing or tumbling about; hence, turmoil; ferment; hurly-burly.

Wiktionary

1. n. general confusion; disorderly mixture; aimless effort; as, a welter of papers and magazines
2. v. intransitive to roll; to wallow
3. v. intransitive to be soaked or steeped in; as, to welter in one’s own blood
4. adj. Of horsemen, heavyweight; as, a welter race.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. v. To roll, as the body of an animal; to tumble about, especially in anything foul or defiling; to wallow.
2. v. To rise and fall, as waves; to tumble over, as billows.
3. v. rare To wither; to wilt.
4. adj. (Horse Racing) Of, pertaining to, or designating, the most heavily weighted race in a meeting.
5. n. That in which any person or thing welters, or wallows; filth; mire; slough.
6. n. A rising or falling, as of waves.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a confused multitude of things
2. v. toss, roll, or rise and fall in an uncontrolled way
3. v. roll around,
4. v. be immersed in