Showing results for "swimming"

• present participle of swim.

swimming

American  

[swim-ing] / ˈswɪm ɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of a person or thing that swims.

2. the skill or technique of a person who swims.

3. the sport of swimming.

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adjective

1. pertaining to, characterized by, or capable of swimming.

2. used in or for swimming.

   swimming trunks.

3. immersed in or overflowing with water or some other liquid.

4. dizzy or giddy.

   a swimming head.

Other Word Forms

• swimmingness
  noun
• nonswimming
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of swimming

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English swimmende (adjective). See swim, -ing ², -ing ¹

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Explanation

Swimming is an activity that involves moving through the water using your arms and legs. One of the best ways to cool off on a hot summer day is swimming in a cold lake or pool. Swimming is both a casual activity and a serious sport. To you, swimming may involve splashing through the waves or dog-paddling across a public pool. Olympic athletes, on the other hand, swim distances as far as 1500 meters at unbelievable speeds. As an adjective, swimming describes anything that swims or that's used for swimming, like a swimming hole. You can also poetically describe a crying person's eyes as "swimming with tears."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

swimming

The attack is the second alligator death in Florida this year, after a 31-year-old woman was killed in June while swimming with her friends near Orlando.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

"There was a little bit of a meeting and greeting period, but afterwards they were all kind of swimming together in a big group."

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

These places include swimming pools, gyms, schools, hospitals and other places where privacy is extremely important, Micaelsen said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Its sunken gardens and swimming pool promised comfort, while a blast door, escape hatches and air filtration protected against nuclear fallout.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

I continued my swimming excursions, going farther from the island each time.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

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