swim
Americanverb (used without object)
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swims,
present (3rd person singular)
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swam,
past
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swum,
past participle
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swimming
present participle
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to move in water by movements of the limbs, fins, tail, etc.
-
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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swims,
present (3rd person singular)
-
swam,
past
-
swum,
past participle
-
swimming
present participle
-
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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swims
plural
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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.
See Examples For:
Spirostomum ambiguum is a giant single-celled ciliate, named for the fringe of hairlike cilia it uses to swim.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026
During a 2001 business trip to the Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City, the pair chatted on the plane ride, caught a free outdoor concert and went for a swim.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
Point Loma is stunning territory for anyone inclined to swim, surf, sail, stroll, eat or drink at water’s edge.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
He says "seals can swim from anything between 60 and 80 miles a day".
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
Selkie didn’t like Nim to swim out deep, but she let her dive and visit for just a minute.
From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr
While half-hour runs and swims registered fine, it consistently failed to recognize short but vigorous 20-minute walks and my 40-minute, hilly bike commute to work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
"My son swims at Tollcross and it's a chance to show him what he can maybe be if he works hard - I think it's good having it back."
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
Stunning biologists, a lone coyote swims to Alcatraz.
From MarketWatch ● May 6, 2026
Ted, Teddy, Theodore — what do you call Teddy swims?
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2026
He swims so far, he’s just a blur.
From "All The Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven
The Republican nominee in the Wisconsin governor’s race, Rep. Tom Tiffany, survived an emergency water landing and swam to safety after his plane lost power approaching a Wisconsin airport, he said Sunday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
"As the plane began to submerge, we exited the aircraft and swam to a shallow area, where we waited until emergency responders reached us by boat," Tiffany wrote on social media.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
Most swam around a border fence and at least 100 people died during the crossing, according to figures from Ceuta's mayor.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
During the attack, the woman swam toward a rock to get away from the animal, but she said the otter climbed onto the rock and continued to strike her.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
The long-necked waterbirds swam and flapped around us, trying to snatch fish from the net, and the master shooed them away impatiently.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
He has swum against the tide and now he is very much in the train of modern football, and at the front.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
On Saturday, Spanish officials said they began installing a makeshift, inflatable barrier that extends out some 500 yards from a breakwater where many of the migrants had swum to the enclave.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
A humpback whale stranded on Germany's Baltic Sea coast since early this week has freed itself and swum into deeper waters, rescuers said Friday.
From Barron's ● Mar. 27, 2026
Dr Massey, who has swum the channel and competed in the world ice-swimming championships, goes cold-water swimming once a week but only spends a couple of minutes in the water.
From BBC ● Dec. 29, 2025
But Tomas had swum in blue rivers on Earth, with strangers passing on the road, and eaten in strange houses with strange people, and his weapon had always been his smile.
From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury
It definitely didn’t involve going to 12-step meetings and swimming laps at seven in the morning.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Dennis “Chip” Wilson was born in California and grew up in Calgary playing football and swimming competitively.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
John Quincy Adams used to walk from the White House down to the Potomac and go swimming — often in the nude.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
"Most of the people we rescued were those who had been swimming away from the vessel," said the spokeswoman.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
I’d been swimming for what felt like an hour, and I was so exhausted that the waves were now dictating my direction.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
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.
