Swim Definition & Meaning

American

British

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Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms swim American [swim] / swɪm /

verb (used without object)

swam, swum, swimming

1. to move in water by movements of the limbs, fins, tail, etc.

2. to float on the surface of water or some other liquid.

3. to move, rest, or be suspended in air as if swimming in water.

4. to move, glide, or go smoothly over a surface.

5. to be immersed or steeped in or overflowing or flooded with a liquid.

   eyes swimming with tears.

6. to be dizzy or giddy; seem to whirl.

   My head began to swim.

verb (used with object)

swam, swum, swimming

1. to move along in or cross (a body of water) by swimming.

   to swim a lake.

2. to perform (a particular stroke) in swimming.

   to swim a sidestroke.

3. to cause to swim or float, as on a stream.

4. to furnish with sufficient water to swim or float.

noun

1. an act, instance, or period of swimming.

2. a motion as of swimming; a smooth, gliding movement.

idioms

1. in the swim, alert to or actively engaged in events; in the thick of things.

   Despite her age, she is still in the swim.

swim British / swɪm /

verb

1. (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

2. (tr) to cover (a distance or stretch of water) in this way

3. (tr) to compete in (a race) in this way

4. (intr) to be supported by and on a liquid; float

5. (tr) to use (a particular stroke) in swimming

6. (intr) to move smoothly, usually through air or over a surface

7. (intr) to reel or seem to reel

   my head swam

   the room swam around me

8. (intr; often foll by in or with) to be covered or flooded with water or other liquid

9. to be liberally supplied (with)

   he's swimming in money

10. (tr) to cause to float or swim

11. (tr) to provide (something) with water deep enough to float in

12. to resist prevailing opinion

13. to conform to prevailing opinion

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

1. the act, an instance, or period of swimming

2. any graceful gliding motion

3. a condition of dizziness; swoon

4. a pool in a river good for fishing

5. informal fashionable or active in social or political activities

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 swim More Idioms

More idioms and phrases containing swim

• in the swim
• sink or swim

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.

She said she had been running there with a couple of colleagues when they worked at a swimming pool.

From BBC

A former Olympian herself, she won two gold medals in swimming for Zimbabwe.

From BBC

That makes you a salmon rather than a tilapia, only you no longer have to swim upstream.

From MarketWatch

Infected birds may walk or swim in circles, crash into objects, or even fall out of the air.

From Science Daily

Construction machinery still dots the site for a planned 59-room extension to the luxury resort, some of whose suites have their own swimming pools.

From Barron's

Related Words

• bathe
• crawl
• dive
• float
• glide
• paddle
• submerge
• wade

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.