swim

[ swim ]

/ swɪm /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR swim ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), swam, swum, swim·ming.

to move in water by movements of the limbs, fins, tail, etc.

to float on the surface of water or some other liquid.

to move, rest, or be suspended in air as if swimming in water.

to move, glide, or go smoothly over a surface.

to be immersed or steeped in or overflowing or flooded with a liquid: eyes swimming with tears.

to be dizzy or giddy; seem to whirl: My head began to swim.

verb (used with object), swam, swum, swim·ming.

to move along in or cross (a body of water) by swimming: to swim a lake.

to perform (a particular stroke) in swimming: to swim a sidestroke.

to cause to swim or float, as on a stream.

to furnish with sufficient water to swim or float.

noun

an act, instance, or period of swimming.

a motion as of swimming; a smooth, gliding movement.

Nearby words

Idioms

in the swim, alert to or actively engaged in events; in the thick of things: Despite her age, she is still in the swim.

Origin of swim

before 900; Middle English swimmen, Old English swimman; cognate with Dutch zwemmen, German schwimmen, Old Norse svimma

Related formsswim·ma·ble, adjectiveswim·mer, nounnon·swim·mer, nounout·swim, verb, out·swam, out·swum, out·swim·ming.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for swim

Her downfall came about, because for a second she forgot that to swim in the shark pool, you have to always act like a shark.
‘Housewife Tycoon’ Took On ‘Mad Men’ NYC Real Estate Market and Won|Vicky Ward|October 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
My father used to swim in these fountains, to cool off from the heat and to make my mother laugh.
Those Kansas City Blues: A Family History|Katie Baker|October 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
(She addresses me in various terms of endearment, as one would an old friend, and invites me to swim in her pool after lunch).
Gail Sheehy Books Passage to the Past|Lizzie Crocker|September 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One year ago, Diana Nyad completed her 35-year quest to do the impossible: a 53-hour swim from Cuba to Florida.
From Havana to Hero: Diana Nyad’s 35-Year Quest|Diana Nyad|September 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST

"She says she cannot swim, and the girl cannot swim," Hassan says.
Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in Iraq|Nathan Bradley Bethea|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And, if ye're reasonable, I'll not even trouble you to swim for it this time.
Captain Blood|Rafael Sabatini
Other children were thrown into rivers and those who could swim were shot down as they struggled in the water.
With Our Soldiers in France|Sherwood Eddy
And then the people of the hill rose up and went into the stream to swim.
Gods and Fighting Men|Lady I. A. Gregory
Hunferth calls Beowulf a mudscow; Breca and Beowulf swim like two dead herrings.
The Translations of Beowulf|Chauncey Brewster Tinker
But in the season of neap tides enough water is left for them to swim about within the semi-circle of stakes.
A Canadian Manor and Its Seigneurs|George M. Wrong

British Dictionary definitions for swim

swim

/ (swɪm) /

verb swims, swimming, swam or swum

(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

(tr) to cover (a distance or stretch of water) in this way

(tr) to compete in (a race) in this way

(intr) to be supported by and on a liquid; float

(tr) to use (a particular stroke) in swimming

(intr) to move smoothly, usually through air or over a surface

(intr) to reel or seem to reelmy head swam; the room swam around me

(intr; often foll by in or with) to be covered or flooded with water or other liquid

(intr often foll by in) to be liberally supplied (with)he's swimming in money

(tr) to cause to float or swim

(tr) to provide (something) with water deep enough to float in

swim against the tide or swim against the stream to resist prevailing opinion

swim with the tide or swim with the stream to conform to prevailing opinion

noun

the act, an instance, or period of swimming

any graceful gliding motion

a condition of dizziness; swoon

a pool in a river good for fishing

in the swim informal fashionable or active in social or political activities

Derived Formsswimmable, adjectiveswimmer, nounswimming, noun, adjective

Word Origin for swim

Old English swimman; related to Old Norse svima, German schwimmen, Gothic swumsl pond, Norwegian svamla to paddle

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

Idioms and Phrases with swim

swim

In addition to the idioms beginning with swim

swim against the current
swim with the tide

also see:

in the swim
sink or swim

swim

verb (used without object), swam, swum, swim·ming.

verb (used with object), swam, swum, swim·ming.

noun

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of swim

Examples from the Web for swim

swim

verb swims, swimming, swam or swum

noun

Word Origin for swim

swim