swamp

[swomp]

See more synonyms for swamp on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

verb (used with object)

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

verb (used without object)

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.

Origin of swamp

1615–25; < Dutch zwamp creek, fen; akin to sump and to Middle Low German swamp, Old Norse svǫppr sponge

Related formsswamp·ish, adjectiveun·der·swamp, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for swamped

Contemporary Examples

No one in Washington listened, and Sequoyah was swamped by the establishment of Oklahoma in 1907.
One U.S. Constitution Just Wasn’t Enough
Tom Arnold-Forster
July 4, 2014
The Daily Pic: In 1913, New Yorker Robert Winthrop Chandler was a successful radical, until he got swamped by Matisse and Duchamp.
Painting, Red in Tooth and Claw
Blake Gopnik
November 8, 2013
The couple were swamped with phone-waving well-wishers and extra police had to be called in at one stage as numbers swelled.
Windsor Love Fest As Will and Kate Meet Barbara on London Bus
Tom Sykes
November 7, 2013
But in the past decade the city of less than 60,000 inhabitants has been swamped with over 20 million visitors each year.
The Big Idea: How Tourism Can Destroy the Places We Love
Elizabeth Becker
July 5, 2013
Howard Kurtz talks to Michael Steele about the decision that swamped the convention.
Michael Steele Calls Critics of His Choice of Tampa for GOP Convention ‘Stupid’
Howard Kurtz
August 27, 2012

Historical Examples

At one moment you might have thought it swamped, for no sign of it could be detected.
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
It was one of those moments when a man's hope is swamped in present difficulties.
The Cruise of the Dry Dock
T. S. Stribling
In the uproar forward, Madden heard the cries: "Th' dinghy's swamped!"
The Cruise of the Dry Dock
T. S. Stribling
Her pupils had dilated until the irises were swamped in black.
The Education of Eric Lane
Stephen McKenna
I 'm just as hurried as that boy of yours was when he swamped the powder-magazine.
Barrington
Charles James Lever

British Dictionary definitions for swamped

swamp

noun

1. permanently waterlogged ground that is usually overgrown and sometimes partly forestedCompare marsh
2. (as modifier)swamp fever

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 numberswe 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

Derived Formsswampish, adjectiveswampless, adjectiveswampy, adjective

Word Origin

C17: probably from Middle Dutch somp; compare Middle High German sumpf, Old Norse svöppr sponge, Greek somphos spongy

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for swamped

swamp

n.

1624 (first used by Capt. John Smith, in reference to Virginia), perhaps a dialectal survival from an Old English cognate of Old Norse svoppr "sponge, fungus," from Proto-Germanic *swampuz; but traditionally connected with Middle English sompe "morass, swamp," probably from Middle Dutch somp or Middle Low German sump "swamp." Related to Old Norse svöppr "sponge." Swamp Yankee "rural, rustic New Englander" is attested from 1941.

swamp

v.

"overwhelm, sink (as if in a swamp)," 1772, from swamp (n.). Figurative sense is from 1818. Related: Swamped; swamping.

swamped in Science

swamp

[swŏmp]

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

swamp

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}swamp

Examples from the Web for swamped

Contemporary Examples

No one in Washington listened, and Sequoyah was swamped by the establishment of Oklahoma in 1907.

The Daily Pic: In 1913, New Yorker Robert Winthrop Chandler was a successful radical, until he got swamped by Matisse and Duchamp.

The couple were swamped with phone-waving well-wishers and extra police had to be called in at one stage as numbers swelled.

But in the past decade the city of less than 60,000 inhabitants has been swamped with over 20 million visitors each year.

Howard Kurtz talks to Michael Steele about the decision that swamped the convention.

Historical Examples

At one moment you might have thought it swamped, for no sign of it could be detected.

It was one of those moments when a man's hope is swamped in present difficulties.

In the uproar forward, Madden heard the cries: "Th' dinghy's swamped!"

Her pupils had dilated until the irises were swamped in black.

I 'm just as hurried as that boy of yours was when he swamped the powder-magazine.

swamp

Word Origin

Word Origin and History for swamped

swamp

n.

swamp

v.

swamp

Origin of swamp