swamp

American  

[swomp] / swɒmp /

noun

1. a tract of wet, spongy land, often having a growth of certain types of trees and other vegetation, but unfit for cultivation.

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verb (used with object)

1. to flood or drench with water or the like.

2. Nautical. to sink or fill (a boat) with water.

3. to plunge or cause to sink in or as if in a swamp.

4. to overwhelm, especially to overwhelm with an excess of something.

   He swamped us with work.

5. to render helpless.

6. to remove trees and underbrush from (a specific area), especially to make or cleave a trail (often followed byout ).

7. to trim (felled trees) into logs, as at a logging camp or sawmill.

verb (used without object)

1. to fill with water and sink, as a boat.

2. to sink or be stuck in a swamp or something likened to a swamp.

3. to be plunged into or overwhelmed with something, especially something that keeps one busy, worried, etc.

swamp British  

/ swɒmp /

noun

1. 1. permanently waterlogged ground that is usually overgrown and sometimes partly forested Compare marsh

   2. ( as modifier )

      swamp fever

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verb

1. to drench or submerge or be drenched or submerged

2. nautical to cause (a boat) to sink or fill with water or (of a boat) to sink or fill with water

3. to overburden or overwhelm or be overburdened or overwhelmed, as by excess work or great numbers

   we have been swamped with applications

4. to sink or stick or cause to sink or stick in or as if in a swamp

5. (tr) to render helpless

swamp Scientific  

/ swŏmp /

1. An area of low-lying wet or seasonally flooded land, often having trees and dense shrubs or thickets.

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Other Word Forms

• swampish adjective
• swampless adjective
• swampy adjective
• underswamp noun

Etymology

Origin of swamp

First recorded in 1615–25; from Dutch zwamp “creek, fen”; akin to sump and to Middle Low German swamp, Old Norse svǫppr “sponge”

Example Sentences

With younger generations even more deeply committed to the instant gratification of a digital swamp, and with national literacy scores signaling ever-decreasing levels of educational competence, I fear the national dialogue will not improve.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026

It is bordered by vast swamp forests and largely undisturbed lowland rainforest growing atop deep peat deposits.

From Science Daily • Feb. 24, 2026

David Tor, acting director of the town's hospital, introduced AFP to a mother who had been forced to deliver in nearby swamp land.

From Barron's • Feb. 18, 2026

When you hail from one of the top 10 swamp cities in northeastern Florida, it’s just about impossible not to have a few in your circle.

From Salon • Feb. 4, 2026

The two sat hunched over the fire for a long while, drinking cups of strong swamp tea.

From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich

Related Words

• beset
• besiege
• drench
• drown
• engulf
• inundate
• overcrowd
• overflow
• overload
• saturate
• sink
• submerge
• wash