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
- nonswimmer noun
- outswim verb
- swimmable adjective
- swimmer noun
- swimming noun
Etymology
Origin of swim
First recorded before 900; Middle English swimmen, Old English swimman; cognate with Dutch zwemmen, German schwimmen, Old Norse svimma
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.
By 10:24 p.m., the equivalent of 20,000 Olympic swimming pools of water flows out.
The two videos, each lasting less than 30 seconds, show one of the helicopters hovering by the music star’s swimming pool as he salutes the crew.
“I was telling my girlfriend on the way here, it’s like swimming in a cesspool of trauma,” he told USA Today, mentioning a partner who has not been identified.
From Los Angeles Times
Kid Rock -- whose real name is Robert Ritchie -- posted a video on X over the weekend showing a helicopter hovering near his mountaintop home's swimming pool as he clapped and saluted.
From Barron's
Don’t miss the Tropical Rainforest Aviary for free-flight birds or the Arctic Passage, where you can watch polar bears and seals swim underwater.
From Salon
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.
