swim
Americanverb (used without object)
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to move in water by movements of the limbs, fins, tail, etc.
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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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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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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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Words to Know and Academic Words, Unit 6
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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.
If the world is ending, you might as well swim in dirty water and have fun doing it, no?
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 1, 2026
"But it also brings challenges with working memory and remembering things and if you don't have those systems and strategies in place it just feels like you're trying to swim uphill constantly."
From BBC • Jun. 26, 2026
Ms. Fash now divides her time between Rockaway and Rincón, Puerto Rico, so that she can swim in the ocean every day.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 24, 2026
The authorities urged people not to swim unsupervised, as forecasters warned the extreme weather episode could end up being as serious as a 2003 heatwave that claimed the lives of nearly 15,000 people nationwide.
From Barron's • Jun. 22, 2026
A person with a broken ankle would probably not be able to swim to shore.
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
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.
