submerge
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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to sink or plunge under water or beneath the surface of any enveloping medium.
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to be covered or lost from sight.
verb
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to plunge, sink, or dive or cause to plunge, sink, or dive below the surface of water, etc
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(tr) to cover with water or some other liquid
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(tr) to hide; suppress
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(tr) to overwhelm, as with work, difficulties, etc
Other Word Forms
- resubmerge verb
- submergence noun
- unsubmerging adjective
Etymology
Origin of submerge
First recorded in 1600–10; from Latin submergere, equivalent to sub- sub- + mergere “to dip, immerse”; merge
Explanation
When you go swimming, you submerge your body in water. If your head is out of the water, it is not submerged — it's just wet. To really soak a washcloth, you should submerge it in a basin of water. It is said that the word submerge was invented by William Shakespeare. We don't know that for sure, but we know that its appearance in the play Antony and Cleopatra is the first recorded time the word was written, and therefore read, by anyone.
Vocabulary lists containing submerge
A Recipe for Success: Thanksgiving Cooking Words
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Power Prefix: sub-
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"Rogue Wave," Vocabulary from the short story
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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.
First, the Coens submerge us headfirst into the cold netherworld of a Minnesota winter, where criminals hope that a dusting of fresh, frosty powder will cover their tracks.
From Salon • Feb. 7, 2026
“They then witnessed the shark submerge below the waterline without resurfacing.”
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 22, 2025
Listen to Yamaha: A swirling 80s funk groove allows Dijon to submerge himself in the bliss of enduring love.
From BBC • Dec. 20, 2025
"But they are really flat yet prone to human-caused subsidence, so sustained sea level rise could submerge them really fast."
From Science Daily • Oct. 23, 2025
Keeping the retrieved envelope in his hand, he sat lower, deeper, in the water, letting his knees submerge.
From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger
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.
