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swim
[ swim ]
verb (used without object)
- to move in water by movements of the limbs, fins, tail, etc.
- to float on the surface of water or some other liquid.
- to move, rest, or be suspended in air as if swimming in water.
- to move, glide, or go smoothly over a surface.
- to be immersed or steeped in or overflowing or flooded with a liquid:
eyes swimming with tears.
- to be dizzy or giddy; seem to whirl:
My head began to swim.
verb (used with object)
- to move along in or cross (a body of water) by swimming:
to swim a lake.
- to perform (a particular stroke) in swimming:
to swim a sidestroke.
- to cause to swim or float, as on a stream.
- to furnish with sufficient water to swim or float.
noun
- an act, instance, or period of swimming.
- a motion as of swimming; a smooth, gliding movement.
swim
/ ɪ /
verb
- 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
- tr to cover (a distance or stretch of water) in this way
- tr to compete in (a race) in this way
- intr to be supported by and on a liquid; float
- tr to use (a particular stroke) in swimming
- intr to move smoothly, usually through air or over a surface
- intr to reel or seem to reel
my head swam
the room swam around me
- intr; often foll by in or with to be covered or flooded with water or other liquid
- introften foll byin to be liberally supplied (with)
he's swimming in money
- tr to cause to float or swim
- tr to provide (something) with water deep enough to float in
- swim against the tide or swim against the streamto resist prevailing opinion
- swim with the tide or swim with the streamto conform to prevailing opinion
noun
- the act, an instance, or period of swimming
- any graceful gliding motion
- a condition of dizziness; swoon
- a pool in a river good for fishing
- in the swim informal.fashionable or active in social or political activities
Derived Forms
- ˈɾԲ, nounadjective
- ˈɾ, adjective
- ˈɾ, noun
Other Word Forms
- ɾm· adjective
- ɾm noun
- non·ɾm noun
- dzܳȴɾ verb outswam outswum outswimming
Word History and Origins
Origin of swim1
Word History and Origins
Origin of swim1
Idioms and Phrases
- in the swim, alert to or actively engaged in events; in the thick of things:
Despite her age, she is still in the swim.
More idioms and phrases containing swim
- in the swim
- sink or swim
Example Sentences
Put a hand to the clear flowing water, and it feels warm enough for a swim.
Animal rights groups want the orcas to be rehomed in a whale sanctuary where they will have more space to swim and will not be forced to breed or perform in shows.
Replicating that at scale for the 800+ Olympic swimming pool sized unlined pits was another matter.
On the afternoon of May 18, 1926, Aimee went for a swim at Venice Beach while her secretary waited on shore.
Robin Reed, 46, and his son Owen, 17, who were from Caerphilly county in south Wales, were swept out to sea on 13 April while swimming at a beach without lifeguards in Seventeen Seventy, Queensland.
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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.
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