swim
Americanverb (used without object)
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swims,
present (3rd person singular)
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swam,
past
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swum,
past participle
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swimming
present participle
-
to move in water by movements of the limbs, fins, tail, etc.
-
to float on the surface of water or some other liquid.
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to move, rest, or be suspended in air as if swimming in water.
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to move, glide, or go smoothly over a surface.
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to be immersed or steeped in or overflowing or flooded with a liquid.
eyes swimming with tears.
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to be dizzy or giddy; seem to whirl.
My head began to swim.
verb (used with object)
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swims,
present (3rd person singular)
-
swam,
past
-
swum,
past participle
-
swimming
present participle
-
to move along in or cross (a body of water) by swimming.
to swim a lake.
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to perform (a particular stroke) in swimming.
to swim a sidestroke.
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to cause to swim or float, as on a stream.
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to furnish with sufficient water to swim or float.
noun
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swims
plural
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an act, instance, or period of swimming.
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a motion as of swimming; a smooth, gliding movement.
idioms
verb
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(intr) to move along in water, etc, by means of movements of the body or parts of the body, esp the arms and legs, or (in the case of fish) tail and fins
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(tr) to cover (a distance or stretch of water) in this way
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(tr) to compete in (a race) in this way
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(intr) to be supported by and on a liquid; float
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(tr) to use (a particular stroke) in swimming
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(intr) to move smoothly, usually through air or over a surface
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(intr) to reel or seem to reel
my head swam
the room swam around me
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(intr; often foll by in or with) to be covered or flooded with water or other liquid
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to be liberally supplied (with)
he's swimming in money
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(tr) to cause to float or swim
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(tr) to provide (something) with water deep enough to float in
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to resist prevailing opinion
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to conform to prevailing opinion
noun
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the act, an instance, or period of swimming
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any graceful gliding motion
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a condition of dizziness; swoon
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a pool in a river good for fishing
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informal fashionable or active in social or political activities
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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swimsimple
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swimssimple
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have swumperfect
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has swumperfect
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am swimmingprogressive
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are swimmingprogressive
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is swimmingprogressive
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have been swimmingperfect progressive
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has been swimmingperfect progressive
Past
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swamsimple
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had swumperfect
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was swimmingprogressive
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were swimmingprogressive
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had been swimmingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of swim
First recorded before 900; Middle English swimmen, Old English swimman; cognate with Dutch zwemmen, German schwimmen, Old Norse svimma
Explanation
When you move yourself through the water using your arms and legs, you swim. If you live near the ocean, it's probably a good idea to learn how to swim. You might decide to swim across the English Channel, or, if you're a little less adventurous, just swim in your town's swimming pool. When things appear to be submerged as if underwater, they swim too: "I like it when the mashed potatoes swim in gravy." And when something appears fuzzy or whirling, it also seems to swim: "I was so tired the equations on the chalkboard began to swim." The root of swim means "to be in motion."
Vocabulary lists containing swim
Words with Two Past-Tense Forms That Creeped (or Crept) into English
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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.
See Examples For:
Other manifesto pledges have included forcing water company bosses to swim in polluted rivers and banning loud snacks in cinemas.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
It is also performing baseline wildlife surveys, including acoustic monitoring of the belugas to better understand where they swim.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
“Investors, in general, have the memories of goldfish. They swim around the bowl and say, ‘Oh, look, a castle.’
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
A spokesperson for Concordia University confirmed that Storer was a student for the 2024-25 academic year and was a member of the men’s swim team but did not return the following year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
We’ve seen each other despite the fact that I’ve missed swim.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Stunning biologists, a lone coyote swims to Alcatraz.
From MarketWatch ● May 6, 2026
Chicago-born Leo, the first American pope, is a sports fan, enjoying baseball and basketball, while he swims and plays tennis regularly at the papal out-of-town residence, Castel Gandolfo.
From Barron's ● Apr. 10, 2026
Meatloaf now swims in the aquarium’s sea turtle rehabilitation area, which opened in January.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
But eventually she adjusts and swims in the dark, beneath the ice, from one temporary opening to another, making a journey that is about much more than space and time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026
But no fish swims into it, or if it does, it dies and drifts away.
From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien
Theories have circulated online about what might have been behind the wave of 72,000 people who climbed over fences and swam around a breakwater to get into Ceuta, a Spanish exclave in North Africa.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
At least 78 people died on the Spanish side of the frontier during the main rush as migrants swam into Ceuta, according to Spain's government.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
A "bright and funny" student drowned on a day out as he and his friends swam in a lake on a warm day, an inquest has heard.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
In May 2021, thousands of Moroccans swam or scaled border fences into Ceuta, much as they did last week.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
The next morning, Duane swam over to the Shipwreck to pay C.C. a visit.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
On Saturday, Spanish officials said they began installing a makeshift, inflatable barrier that extends out some 500 yards from a breakwater where many of the migrants had swum to the enclave.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
Off a Mediterranean beach, countless shoes bobbed in the blue waters, abandoned by migrants who had swum to this slice of Spanish territory along the Strait of Gibraltar, just off the coast of Morocco.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
She declined to identify herself as she was in an irregular situation, having swum to Ceuta by sea with her husband and daughter.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
Dr Massey, who has swum the channel and competed in the world ice-swimming championships, goes cold-water swimming once a week but only spends a couple of minutes in the water.
From BBC ● Dec. 29, 2025
There was the dream itself, and there was a memory connected with it that had swum into his mind in the few seconds after waking.
From "1984" by George Orwell
An AFP correspondent in Ansar saw a destroyed building as rescuers working to remove human remains from the rubble, and a swimming pool clouded and grey from dust and debris.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
It seemed like a trophy purchase for an electronics firm swimming in cash during the heady days of Japan’s bubble economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
The backyard includes tiger fig trees, apple trees, and other edible plantings surrounding a swimming pool designed for year-round Southern California living.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
She compares it to holding on to the side of a swimming pool, afraid to let go.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
But the snow before the lair had melted in the Dragon's fire, and now the flat surface was a sheet of swimming ice.
From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda
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.
