swimming

American  

[swim-ing] / ˈswɪm ɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of a person or thing that swims.

2. the skill or technique of a person who swims.

3. the sport of swimming.

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adjective

1. pertaining to, characterized by, or capable of swimming.

2. used in or for swimming.

   swimming trunks.

3. immersed in or overflowing with water or some other liquid.

4. dizzy or giddy.

   a swimming head.

Other Word Forms

• nonswimming
  adjective
• swimmingness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of swimming

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English swimmende (adjective). See swim, -ing ², -ing ¹

Explanation

Swimming is an activity that involves moving through the water using your arms and legs. One of the best ways to cool off on a hot summer day is swimming in a cold lake or pool. Swimming is both a casual activity and a serious sport. To you, swimming may involve splashing through the waves or dog-paddling across a public pool. Olympic athletes, on the other hand, swim distances as far as 1500 meters at unbelievable speeds. As an adjective, swimming describes anything that swims or that's used for swimming, like a swimming hole. You can also poetically describe a crying person's eyes as "swimming with tears."

Example Sentences

However, the deportees can make use of its football pitch, tennis court and an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

From BBC • May 22, 2026

“When we all know, we’ve all seen footage of the polar bears swimming to new pieces of ice.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026

Mary, on the other hand, is a clumsy bird who, in Hadlow’s telling, becomes a perfectly capable duckling swimming fiercely amid a bevy of swans.

From Salon • May 20, 2026

At the time, it was swimming in a lively group of nine adult whales.

From Science Daily • May 20, 2026

“Climate change is big. It’s overwhelming. Sometimes it feels like you’re swimming against a hurricane. Like you’ll never be able to do all the things you need to do to fix it,” Natalie said.

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz