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)
-
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
-
drownssimple
-
have drownedperfect
-
has drownedperfect
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am drowningprogressive
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are drowningprogressive
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is drowningprogressive
-
have been drowningperfect progressive
-
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
We're speaking in the middle of the same crowded bistro, where maracas, horns, matracas, and chants almost drown out our conversation.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
If the men didn’t drown in the rapids, those who survived would be left stranded in the jungle without food, weapons, tools, and shelter.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
It buys prestige, photographs, the roar that drowns out everything the host would rather you not hear.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
Today, the view takes in one of Europe's largest logistics hubs and key transport routes between Rotterdam and Belgium, the rumble of passing trucks drowns out the birdsong.
From BBC ● Apr. 12, 2026
In the play—spoiler alert—Ophelia drowns in a river after her father is murdered by Hamlet, whom she may have been in love with.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 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
Leer nearly drowns trying to demonstrate a sausage.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
Some videos show groups of young men and women swimming happily in the sea - even though many have drowned making the trip in recent weeks.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
"It really breaks my heart to see so many people suffering, and who knows how many have actually drowned along the way," one young man, a local resident, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
A couple have told the BBC how they attempted to save a mother and daughter who drowned off an Essex beach on Wednesday.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
He received a hero’s welcome in Hostage Square in Tel Aviv after forging a tenuous Gaza ceasefire last October, visibly moved as he was drowned out by appreciative shouts of “Thank you, Witkoff!”
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
Mama said something else, but her words were drowned out by Tidings, riding the tractor back toward the shed.
From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
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
That's when cold water can cause a sudden heart attack by increasing your heart rate, or making you gasp for breath and inhaling water directly into the lungs, leading to drowning.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Some of the medical and scientific skepticism is a result of people feeling adrift in a rapidly changing world and drowning in competing information.
From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026
The cause was never confirmed, but conspiratorial neighbors note that the fire extricated the owner from a money pit that was drowning in permit violations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
And sometimes you fall in love that way, when you’re drowning in a world of pain.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
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.
