swamp
Americannoun
-
swamps
plural
verb (used with object)
-
swamps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
swamped,
past participle, past
-
swamping
present participle
-
to flood or drench with water or the like.
-
Nautical. to sink or fill (a boat) with water.
-
to plunge or cause to sink in or as if in a swamp.
-
to overwhelm, especially to overwhelm with an excess of something.
He swamped us with work.
-
to render helpless.
-
to remove trees and underbrush from (a specific area), especially to make or cleave a trail (often followed byout ).
-
to trim (felled trees) into logs, as at a logging camp or sawmill.
verb (used without object)
-
swamps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
swamped,
past participle, past
-
swamping
present participle
-
to fill with water and sink, as a boat.
-
to sink or be stuck in a swamp or something likened to a swamp.
-
to be plunged into or overwhelmed with something, especially something that keeps one busy, worried, etc.
noun
verb
-
to drench or submerge or be drenched or submerged
-
nautical to cause (a boat) to sink or fill with water or (of a boat) to sink or fill with water
-
to overburden or overwhelm or be overburdened or overwhelmed, as by excess work or great numbers
we have been swamped with applications
-
to sink or stick or cause to sink or stick in or as if in a swamp
-
(tr) to render helpless
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
swampsimple
-
swampssimple
-
have swampedperfect
-
has swampedperfect
-
am swampingprogressive
-
are swampingprogressive
-
is swampingprogressive
-
have been swampingperfect progressive
-
has been swampingperfect progressive
Past
-
swampedsimple
-
had swampedperfect
-
was swampingprogressive
-
were swampingprogressive
-
had been swampingperfect progressive
Future
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”
Explanation
A swamp is an area that floods every year because the land is low. Watch out for alligators if you visit Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana, the largest swamp in the United States. Anyone who has spent time in a busy restaurant kitchen has heard harried chefs cry, "I'm in the weeds!" Such people are in a different kind of swamp — the challenging environment in which too many things need to be done in too short a time. Another way of saying this is, "I'm swamped." Here swamp is a verb that describes being stuck in a seemingly endless situation — you feel like you're stuck in the squishy mud of a real swamp.
Vocabulary lists containing swamp
Physical Geography - Introductory
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Physical Geography - Middle School
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Physical Geography - High School
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Let’s take a wade into the ever-deepening swamp.
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026
Authorities say the plane was on a routine mission from Benin City to Lagos when it came down in a swamp near a naval base on Monday morning.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
Even Wednesday, the Clippers sneerily referenced “podcast allegations” as if they came from a catfish in a swamp and not a show which had already won a Pulitzer for the work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
For centuries, it was a vast swamp where mosquitoes spread malaria among shepherds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
His skin was cherry red; his beard and hair the color of iron rust, braided with tufts of grass, leaves, and swamp flowers.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
Misty loved to run in the mud and swamps, but on this occasion, she came back "covered in a sort of greasy orange film".
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
The world-renowned site features iron carbonate concretions that formed some 309 million years ago, fossilizing within them ancient creatures that had once thrived in the area's lush swamps, shallow seas and river deltas.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
A river stretched along the far horizon, lined with a few reeds growing up from the swamps.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026
If you’re new to her work, here is where to start with Groff’s sprawling canon, which spans from steamy Florida swamps to medieval abbeys with a gift for the unexpected.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2026
He’d make up silly raps as we waited for a bite on our lines, and as the sun went down we’d go deeper into the swamps to listen to the Swampfolk put on jazz concerts.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
For every one-of-a-kind miracle who turns into Lamine Yamal there are thousands who get swamped by expectations and never break through.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
Nepal rescuers are still excavating hydropower tunnels swamped by freezing mud, with hundreds of workers among the missing.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
I was not surprised by recent news that online classes have become swamped by artificial intelligence cheating, eroding academic integrity.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
Recruiters and HR offices are swamped with applications that people churn out with job-search platforms and AI agents.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
The algorithm is a rule that protects the doctors from being swamped with too much information—the same way that the rule of agreement protects improv actors when they get up onstage.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
It is swamping the effects of tariffs and the war with Iran, events that would ordinarily be Category 5 storms in their own right.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
Study suggests two underwater faults could each generate 7.1 quakes, swamping areas near shore with 30-foot waves.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2026
With more than a billion internet users, India is grappling with AI-generated disinformation swamping social media.
From Barron's ● Feb. 17, 2026
Pictures show the deep flood waters swamping bridges and fast moving water swirling down roads.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2025
Waves crashed against it, swamping it for a moment before surging away, leaving it bold and grimly reaching upward.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
