swim
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swim¹
- /swɪm/ US, UK
- /sʋɪm/ South Asia
- /s(ʋ)ʊm/ South Asia
Rhymes with -ɪm
Where it comes from
From Middle English swymmen, from Old English swimman (“to swim, float”) (class III strong verb; past tense swamm, past participle geswummen), from Proto-West Germanic *swimman, from Proto-Germanic *swimmaną (“to swim”), from Proto-Indo-European *swem(bʰ)- (“to be unsteady, move, swim”).
Cognates
Cognate with North Frisian sweem, swome, swume, swumi, swumme, swääm (“to swim”), Saterland Frisian and West Frisian swimme (“to swim”), Dutch zwemmen (“to swim”), German schwimmen (“to swim”), Limburgish schwämme, zwömme (“to swim”), Low German swimmen (“to swim”), Luxembourgish schwammen (“to swim”), Vilamovian švymma, śwyma, śwymma (“to swim”), Yiddish שווימען (shvimen, “to swim”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål svømme (“to swim”), Faroese svimja (“to swim”), Norn suma (“to swim”), Norwegian Nynorsk svemja, svemje, svømma, svømme, symja, symje (“to swim”), Swedish simma (“to swim”).
verb swims · swimming · swam · swum · swim
- To move through the water, without touching the bottom; to propel oneself in water by natural means. We were now all upon a Level, as to our travelling; being unshipp’d, for our Bark would swim no farther, and she was too heavy to carry on our Backs […]
- To become immersed in, or as if in, or flooded with, or as if with, a liquid. swimming in self-pity
- To move around freely because of excess space. A fam'd Sur-tout he wears, which once was blue, And his foot swims in a capacious shoe.
- To traverse (a specific body of water, or a specific distance) by swimming; or, to use a specific swimming stroke; or, to compete in a specific swimming event. For exercise, we like to swim laps around the pool.
- To cause to swim. to swim a horse across a river
- To float. sink or swim
- To be overflowed or drenched. I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.
- To immerse in water to make the lighter parts float. to swim wheat in order to select seed
- To test (a suspected witch) by throwing into a river; those who floated rather than sinking were deemed to be witches.
- To glide along with a waving motion.
- To have a great quantity of something. You should be swimming in money after this job.
noun swims
- An act or instance of swimming. I'm going for a swim.
- The sound, or air bladder, of a fish.
- A part of a stream much frequented by fish.
- A dance or dance move of the 1960s in which the arms are moved in imitation of various swimming strokes, such as freestyle, breaststroke, etc. C'mon everybody! C'mon in! Bobby's goin' to show you how to do the swim.
- The flow of events; being in the swim of things. With the road ahead now clear, Mann […] is plunging back into the swim of business in a hurry.
swim²
Where it comes from
From Middle English swime, sweme, swaime (“a dizziness, swoon, trance”), from Old English swīma (“a swoon, swimming in the head”). Cognate with Swedish svimma (“to swoon, faint”) and Danish svime (“to swoon, faint”) / Danish besvime (“to swoon, faint”).
noun swims
- A dizziness; swoon.
verb swims · swimming · swam · swum
- To be dizzy or vertiginous; have a giddy sensation; to have, or appear to have, a whirling motion. My head was swimming after drinking two bottles of cheap wine.
swim³
Where it comes from
Abbreviation of someone who isn't me.
noun
- Abbreviation of someone who isn't me, used as a way to avoid self-designation or self-incrimination, especially in online drug forums.
SWIM⁴
pronoun
- Someone who isn't me; someone who isn't myself SWIM would like to know how to grow marijuana.
Swim⁵
proper noun Swims
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: float, get over, subdue, surmount, overcome, master, backstroke, diving, dive, aquatics, sail, crossing, pool, bathe, bathtub, bath
Translations
Every language
verb move through water
| Español | nadar |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 수영하다 suyeonghada, 헤엄치다 heeomchida |
| 日本語 | 泳ぐ oyogu |
| 中文 | 游泳 yóuyǒng |
| हिन्दी | तैरना tairnā |
| Kiswahili | kuogelea |
| Português | nadar |
| Français | nager |
| Deutsch | schwimmen |
| Italiano | nuotare, natare |
| Ελληνικά | κολυμπάω kolympáo |
| Română | înota |
| Русский | пла́вать plávatʹ, плыть plytʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | bơi, tắm |
| العربية | سَبَحَ sabaḥa |
| עברית | שָׂחָה sakhá |
Talk about this word "swim." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/swim. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. swim. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/swim "swim." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/swim.Cite this
@misc{swim_2026,
title = {swim},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/swim},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
