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).
-
to slake (lime) by covering with water and letting stand.
verb phrase
verb
-
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
-
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:
At its simplest, that works by blasting signals to drown out, confuse or supplant an adversary’s communications.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
This is one of my strongest soup opinions: don’t drown the thing you just concentrated.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
The agency told drivers: “Turn around, don’t drown when encountering flooded roads,” as most flood deaths occur in vehicles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
Firstly, there was anger that it would drown out a conference that has been months in the planning.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
The salmon began to drown in the air, gasping for water, and then it thrashed and twitched, and now they were carrying a panting Loki.
From "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman
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
In Hamlet, Ophelia, his wife, a young noblewoman from Denmark, goes mad and drowns.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2025
Decades later he would tell a high-school English teacher that the scene in which Rabbit’s wife, Janice, accidentally drowns their baby “was the most intense writing of my life.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 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
And now Mustafa practically lives in the bathroom, shaves, gels his hair, and drowns in cologne.
From "Amina's Voice" by Hena Khan
I asked whether he knew the vigil had included testimonies from families in Gaza, which Lenkinski said the protesters had drowned out.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
But by the time it was over, clips of “Ted, you suck” drowned out everything the senator actually said about the Protect College Sports Act.
From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2026
English accents were difficult to pick out around the fight venue and whatever travelling support he did have was comprehensively drowned out by Garcia's largely Mexican-American following.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
In June, a 5-year-old girl from San Bernardino drowned in Laguna Beach after she was pulled into the ocean.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
He wore a huge army jacket that drowned his too-thin frame, and I could tell from his sharp cheekbones and hollow cheeks that he didn’t get enough food.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
On Amazon, you can get blue-blockers for $20—if you want to be a sucker whose eyes are drowning in other short-wavelength light!
From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2026
I am drowning in debt, as the old saying goes, and I need to take action.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
“All of my friends that work in the same field ... we have no idea what to do, because we’re drowning in logistics. We need everything, but we don’t know what that is.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Fifty-five minutes into this Rangers romp at Ibrox, Martin O'Neill and Shaun Maloney stood beside each other in the Celtic technical area, chin-stroking, head-scratching, pointing, waving, drowning.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
I looked down at Rae Ellen’s dirty feet, her yellow braids as straight as two pencils, her scrawny self drowning in a huge pair of overalls.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
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