swimming hole

American  

noun

1. a place, as in a stream or creek, where there is water deep enough to use for swimming.

---

Etymology

Origin of swimming hole

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70

Example Sentences

Fed from glaciers on Mount Shasta, the water pours out of lava tubes and down mossy cliffs, forming a verdant and ethereal cascade into a calm, shaded swimming hole.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 1, 2025

We pass a fast-food spot called Jake’s Place, and a scenic patch of land next to the sea with a sign that reads: "Ye olde swimming hole and picnic area."

From BBC • Sep. 29, 2024

Urged on by images like-minded urbanites have posted to YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, the couple looked forward to floating in a picturesque swimming hole where oak and sycamore trees threw shadows over clear, serene waters.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 1, 2023

This past winter’s flooding might have also shifted logs, gravel and other material around in local rivers, creating new potential hazards at a swimming hole that might not have been there last summer, True said.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 28, 2023

If we kept bickering, we’d never make a decision about the dead man and what it meant for the future of our swimming hole.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall