Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for "swam"
  • past tense form of swim.
Synonyms

swam

American  
[swam] / swæm /

verb

  1. the simple past tense of swim.


swam British  
/ swæm /

verb

  1. the past tense of swim

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Compare meaning

How does swam compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Last July, a North Korean civilian tied plastic foam to his body for buoyancy and swam down the Korean Peninsula’s west coast.

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 24, 2026

Once, they swam in most streams of the Santa Monicas, but their numbers plummeted amid overfishing and coastal development.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 9, 2026

The young girl told Chiedza to hold on to the ball as a flotation aid and swam back to shore.

From BBC Jun. 3, 2026

A pair of humpback whales swam record-breaking journeys between the eastern shores of Australia and breeding grounds in Brazil, research published on Wednesday found.

From Barron's May 20, 2026

My lake friends came to the island every day at dusk and swam around till daybreak.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 12,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training