submerge
Americanverb (used with object)
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submerges,
present (3rd person singular)
-
submerged,
past participle, past
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submerging
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
submerges,
present (3rd person singular)
-
submerged,
past participle, past
-
submerging
present participle
-
to sink or plunge under water or beneath the surface of any enveloping medium.
-
to be covered or lost from sight.
verb
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to plunge, sink, or dive or cause to plunge, sink, or dive below the surface of water, etc
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(tr) to cover with water or some other liquid
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(tr) to hide; suppress
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(tr) to overwhelm, as with work, difficulties, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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submergesimple
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submergessimple
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have submergedperfect
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has submergedperfect
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am submergingprogressive
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are submergingprogressive
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is submergingprogressive
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have been submergingperfect progressive
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has been submergingperfect progressive
Past
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submergedsimple
-
had submergedperfect
-
was submergingprogressive
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were submergingprogressive
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had been submergingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of submerge
First recorded in 1600–10; from Latin submergere, equivalent to sub- sub- + mergere “to dip, immerse”; see merge
Explanation
When you go swimming, you submerge your body in water. If your head is out of the water, it is not submerged — it's just wet. To really soak a washcloth, you should submerge it in a basin of water. It is said that the word submerge was invented by William Shakespeare. We don't know that for sure, but we know that its appearance in the play Antony and Cleopatra is the first recorded time the word was written, and therefore read, by anyone.
Vocabulary lists containing submerge
A Recipe for Success: Thanksgiving Cooking Words
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Power Prefix: sub-
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"Rogue Wave," Vocabulary from the short story
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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:
"I've always been a character actor and I like to submerge myself and try to be somebody else, that's part of the challenge," he said.
From BBC ● Mar. 17, 2026
First, the Coens submerge us headfirst into the cold netherworld of a Minnesota winter, where criminals hope that a dusting of fresh, frosty powder will cover their tracks.
From Salon ● Feb. 7, 2026
“They then witnessed the shark submerge below the waterline without resurfacing.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 22, 2025
"But they are really flat yet prone to human-caused subsidence, so sustained sea level rise could submerge them really fast."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2025
I submerge and scan my surroundings, dodging the many sea creatures peacefully swimming around.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
But at night this thoughtful tenant farmer’s daughter sits in the servants’ hall and submerges herself in serious study.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
There are poignant streaks throughout as Baumgartner delves into the past — or, rather, submerges himself in the “world of Then.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2023
That inhibits its ability to sink, slowing the overturning circulation that submerges atmospheric carbon and instead leaving it near the surface, limiting the ocean's ability to absorb more of the greenhouse gas.
From Salon ● Apr. 3, 2023
According to a release, the design includes horizontal striping “that seemingly submerges the ‘S’ crest below the Navy stripe sea.”
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 20, 2022
I watch as a gargantuan sea monster breaks from the water, gives a squealing cry, and submerges once more.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
Among those killed was a woman who died inside her car submerged on a flooded road, authorities said.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
His team planted fabricated papers naming the targets in a submerged chest in a Czech lake near the German border before “discovering” them in 1964.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Until now, however, scientists have lacked a reliable way to determine how the remains of extinct megafauna and other animals accumulated, survived, and changed inside these submerged graveyards.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
More disappointing is watching a role held aloft by Witherspoon’s charisma and unsinkable pep be submerged in attitudinal gloom despite Minetree’s best efforts.
From Salon ● Jul. 6, 2026
Katz led the way, barefoot and in boxer shorts, using a long stick like a punting pole to try to pick his way across on a jumble of submerged or half submerged logs.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
But it quickly caught fire on social media, where users have posted videos of themselves drinking a whole cup or submerging entire burritos in it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 18, 2025
Residents told Spanish media that by the time they received the mobile alert, muddy water was already surrounding their cars, submerging streets and pouring into their homes.
From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2025
"Lay back, float and that involves submerging your ears and trying to breathe normally," he said.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2025
For the next eight years, as if submerging into quicksand, I sank deeper into debt.
From Salon ● May 11, 2025
Suddenly Jason's feet fell through, his head submerging.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
