drown
Americanverb (used without object)
-
drowns,
present (3rd person singular)
-
drowned,
past participle, past
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drowning
present participle
verb (used with object)
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drowns,
present (3rd person singular)
-
drowned,
past participle, past
-
drowning
present participle
-
to kill by submerging under water or other liquid.
-
to destroy or get rid of by, or as if by, immersion.
He drowned his sorrows in drink.
-
to flood or inundate.
-
to overwhelm so as to render inaudible, as by a louder sound (often followed byout ).
-
to add too much water or liquid to (a drink, food, or the like).
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to slake (lime) by covering with water and letting stand.
verb phrase
verb
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to die or kill by immersion in liquid
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(tr) to destroy or get rid of as if by submerging
he drowned his sorrows in drink
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(tr) to drench thoroughly; inundate; flood
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to render (a sound) inaudible by making a loud noise
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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drownsimple
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drownssimple
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have drownedperfect
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has drownedperfect
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am drowningprogressive
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are drowningprogressive
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is drowningprogressive
-
have been drowningperfect progressive
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has been drowningperfect progressive
Past
-
drownedsimple
-
had drownedperfect
-
was drowningprogressive
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were drowningprogressive
-
had been drowningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of drown
1250–1300; Middle English drounnen, Old English druncnian, perhaps by loss of c between nasals and shift of length from nn to ou
Explanation
The verb drown means to die from inhaling water into the lungs and being unable to breathe. It is possible to drown in even a small amount of water, so it's important to learn proper water safety. You can also use this verb with a direct object: for example, a flash flood might drown animals that live near a river. You can drown things in a less literal way as well. If you drink alcoholic beverages to forget your troubles, for example, you can say you're trying to "drown your sorrows." If you're submerged in a tidal wave of school assignments, then you are "drowning in work."
Vocabulary lists containing drown
"Old World New World" and "The Log of Christopher Columbus"
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Spelling Practice 2, Unit 8
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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:
Secular Israelis were prepared with a counter-protest, blowing whistles to drown out the chants and with some wearing pink lapel buttons showing a middle finger.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
As lab-coated figures played by Kate McKinnon and Geena Davis attempt to deliver exposition, the pals drown them out chit-chatting about drivel.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
I added enough hot sauce to drown out the lemon.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
"They drown out the crowd a little bit and bring down the bass, because sometimes it can be really overwhelming and you can't hear properly", she says.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
Luckily he was a strong swimmer; he didn’t drown.
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
She simply drowns them out with the sound machine as she drifts into a deep sleep.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 17, 2026
The bass notes of the girl group’s first single “Debut” echo through the venue, bright stage lights shine on its members and a screaming crowd nearly drowns out their vocals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2025
"I don't think it increases awareness of them... the public at large have one thing in their head, and that's the Kiss Cam video. That drowns out all the other stuff."
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2025
One day soon, Americans will wake to the sight of families packed inside stifling stadiums after a Category 5 hurricane drowns New Orleans.
From Slate ● Jul. 4, 2025
The column has grown bigger and louder; it drowns out Tao’s reply.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
They said Erndt was 42 years old when he drowned in the lake in August 2002.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
They said Smith, 29, drowned at the lake in April 1974.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
The Daily Mail leads with the story of three members of a family who drowned off the West Sussex coast on Tuesday.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Spanish authorities have recovered the bodies of 78 migrants who drowned in the attempt, while Morocco says 11 people died on its side of the border.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
The noises from the kitchen must have drowned out the sound of my entry.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
Boat noise has been shown to affect whales in particular, stressing them out, disrupting their hunting and drowning out their ocean-spanning songs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
It’s during a monologue in the seventh episode that we learn what haunts Wyck most: the guilt of causing his childhood friend’s drowning, which has weighed on him ever since.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
And it is still, for me and for the strangers arriving on its shore, the difference between drowning and being born.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
Cristian Capotescu, an associate director at Columbia’s Trust Collaboratory who studies social trust, noticed the loudest voices were drowning out a silent majority.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
He tried to grab me to keep from drowning.
From "Lost Boy, Lost Girl" by John Bul Dau
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.
