drown

[ droun ]
See synonyms for: drowndrowneddrowning on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)
  1. to die under water or other liquid of suffocation.

verb (used with object)
  1. to kill by submerging under water or other liquid.

  2. to destroy or get rid of by, or as if by, immersion: He drowned his sorrows in drink.

  1. to flood or inundate.

  2. to overwhelm so as to render inaudible, as by a louder sound (often followed by out).

  3. to add too much water or liquid to (a drink, food, or the like).

  4. to slake (lime) by covering with water and letting stand.

Verb Phrases
  1. drown in,

    • to be overwhelmed by: The company is drowning in bad debts.

    • to be covered with or enveloped in: The old movie star was drowning in mink.

Origin of drown

1
1250–1300; Middle English drounnen,Old English druncnian, perhaps by loss of c between nasals and shift of length from nn to ou

Other words for drown

Other words from drown

  • drowner, noun
  • half-drowned, adjective
  • half-drowning, adjective
  • un·drowned, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use drown in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for drown

drown

/ (draʊn) /


verb
  1. to die or kill by immersion in liquid

  2. (tr) to destroy or get rid of as if by submerging: he drowned his sorrows in drink

  1. (tr) to drench thoroughly; inundate; flood

  2. (tr sometimes foll by out) to render (a sound) inaudible by making a loud noise

Origin of drown

1
C13: probably from Old English druncnian; related to Old Norse drukna to be drowned

Derived forms of drown

  • drowner, noun

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with drown

drown

In addition to the idioms beginning with drown

  • drown one's sorrows
  • drown out

also see:

  • like a drowned rat

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.