Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of swampy
Explanation
Something that's swampy is very wet and soggy, like a swampy baseball field after four days of heavy rain. Something swampy resembles a swamp, a wetland where trees, shrubs, and other plants grow. The "wetland" part is what's important when it comes to this adjective, which you can use for sloppy, squishy places that get your feet really wet. That park won't work for croquet — the grass is so swampy! Swampy can also describe literal swamps: "Cypress trees grow in the swampy areas of Louisiana bordering the Mississippi River."
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.
Paddle in hand, he now collects the rubbish that accumulates in the reeds along the swampy banks to sell to recycling companies.
From Barron's • May 20, 2026
Efforts failed to contain the herd's growth, with a lack of predators and the fertile and swampy Antioquia region providing perfect conditions for the native African animal to thrive.
From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026
Their breath was believed to poison the air and suffocate the land, especially in swampy regions where disease was common.
From Science Daily • Feb. 2, 2026
Her poems ranged from swampy oppressive memories of Florida to the nature of poetry to musings on hypocritical activists.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 7, 2025
Beyond those swampy lands is the White Nile River.
From "Lost Boy, Lost Girl" by John Bul Dau
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.
