swim

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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.

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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.

10.

to furnish with sufficient water to swim or float.

00:10

Swim is one of our favorite verbs.

So is subtilize. Does it mean:

to bark; yelp.

to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about.

LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

noun

11.

an act, instance, or period of swimming.

12.

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

Idioms

13.

in the swim, alert to or actively engaged in events; in the thick of things: Despite her age, she is still in the swim.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English swimmen, Old English swimman; cognate with Dutch zwemmen, German schwimmen, Old Norse svimma

Related forms

swim·ma·ble, adjective

swim·mer, noun

non·swim·mer, noun

out·swim, verb, out·swam, out·swum, out·swim·ming.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To swim

Collins

World English Dictionary

swim (swɪm)

—vb (often foll by in) , swims, swimming, swam, swum
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.	swim against the tide, swim against the stream to resist prevailing opinion
13.	swim with the tide, swim with the stream to conform to prevailing opinion

—n
14.	the act, an instance, or period of swimming
15.	any graceful gliding motion
16.	a condition of dizziness; swoon
17.	a pool in a river good for fishing
18.	informal in the swim fashionable or active in social or political activities

[Old English swimman; related to Old Norse svima, German schwimmen, Gothic swumsl pond, Norwegian svamla to paddle]

'swimmable

—*adj*

'swimmer

—n

'swimming

—n, —*adj*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

swim

O.E. swimman "to move in or on the water, float" (class III strong verb; past tense swamm, pp. swummen), from P.Gmc. *swemjanan (cf. O.S., O.H.G. swimman, O.N. svimma, Du. zwemmen, Ger. schwimmen), from PIE base *swem- "to be in motion," sometimes said to be restricted to Gmc., but possible cognates

are Welsh chwyf "motion," O.Ir. do-sennaim "I hunt," Lith. sundyti "to chase." For the usual IE word, see natatorium. Sense of "reel or move unsteadily" first recorded 1678; of the head or brain, from 1702. Swimsuit first recorded 1934; swimming hole is from 1867; swimming pool is from 1899. Fig. phrase sink or swim is attested from c.1440, often with ref. to ordeals of suspected witches.

swim

1547, "the clear part of any liquid" (above the sediment), from swim (v.). Meaning "part of a river or stream frequented by fish" (and hence fishermen) is from 1828, and is probably the source of the fig. meaning "the current of the latest affairs or events" (1869).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Abbreviations & Acronyms

SWIM
solar wind interplanetary measurements

American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

swim

In addition to the idioms beginning with swim, also see in the swim; sink or swim.