submersible

American  

[suhb-mur-suh-buhl] / səbˈmɜr sə bəl /

adjective

1. capable of being submersed.

2. capable of functioning while submersed.

   a submersible pump.

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noun

1. a ship capable of submerging and operating under water; submarine.

2. a device designed for underwater work or exploration, as a bathyscaphe or diving bell.

submersible British  

/ səbˈmɜːdʒɪbəl, səbˈmɜːsəbəl /

adjective

1. able to be submerged

2. capable of operating under water, etc

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noun

1. a vessel designed to operate under water for short periods

2. a submarine taking one or more men that is designed and equipped to carry out work in deep water below the levels at which divers can work

Other Word Forms

• submersibility
  noun
• nonsubmersible
  adjective
• unsubmersible
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of submersible

First recorded in 1865–70; submerse + -ible

Explanation

Use the word submersible to describe something that can be used under water, like your fancy new submersible video camera. If you can use your watch while you're scuba diving, it's submersible, and so is all of your diving gear. Anything that functions in the water can be described this way, including a submarine, which is sometimes actually called a submersible, as are other machines designed to work under water. The word comes from the Latin submergere, "to plunge under or sink," from the root words sub, "under," and mergere, "to plunge or immerse."

Example Sentences

Submersibles are used in many fields, but many now associate them with the 2023 underwater implosion of the Titan, which killed five people on a trip to explore the Titanic wreck.

From Barron's • Jan. 26, 2026

Submersibles are typically made using titanium, steel and, depending on how deep they’re planned to travel, acrylic.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 24, 2023

Submersibles have traditionally been made of titanium, a particularly strong material, Jaffe says.

From Scientific American • Jun. 20, 2023

Submersibles, remotely controlled by a team on board a specialist ship, spent more than 200 hours surveying the length and breadth of the wreck.

From BBC • May 17, 2023

Submersibles cannot attack their target in definite formations as do surface vessels, and therefore they cannot operate in numbers with the same effectiveness as do the latter.

From The Journal of Submarine Commander von Forstner by Forstner, Georg-Günther, Freiherr von