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swim

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swim

  [swim] ,verb, swam, swum, swim⋅ming, noun
Use swim in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
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)
7. to move along in or cross (a body of water) by swimming: to swim a lake.
8. to perform (a particular stroke) in swimming: to swim a sidestroke.
9. to cause to swim or float, as on a stream.
10. to furnish with sufficient water to swim or float.
–noun
11. an act, instance, or period of swimming.
12. a motion as of swimming; a smooth, gliding movement.
—Idiom
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:
bef. 900; ME swimmen, OE swimman; c. D zwemmen, G schwimmen, ON svimma

Related forms:
swim⋅ma⋅ble, adjective
swimmer, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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swim   (swĭm)   
v.   swam (swām), swum (swŭm), swim·ming, swims

v.   intr.

  1. To move through water by means of the limbs, fins, or tail.

  2. To move as though gliding through water.

  3. To float on water or another liquid.

    1. To be covered or flooded with or as if with a liquid: chicken swimming in gravy.

    2. To possess a superfluity; abound: After winning the lottery, she was swimming in money.

  5. To experience a floating or giddy sensation; be dizzy: "his brain still swimming with the effects of the last night's champagne" (Robert Smith Surtees).

  6. To appear to spin or reel lazily: The room swam before my eyes.

v.   tr.

  1. To move through or across (a body of water) by swimming: She swam the channel.

  2. To execute (a particular stroke) in swimming.

  3. To cause to swim or float.

n.  

    1. The act of swimming.

    2. A period of time spent swimming.

  2. A gliding motion.

  3. A state of dizziness.

  4. An area, as of a river, abounding in fish.

adj.  Of, relating to, or used for swimming: a swim mask.

[Middle English swimmen, from Old English swimman.]
swim'ma·ble adj., swim'mer n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

swim  (v.)
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  (n.)
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, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

swim

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

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Abbreviations & Acronyms
SWIM
solar wind interplanetary measurements
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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