swim
swim Lexical Profile
swim Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To propel the body through water by using the limbs, fins, or tail.
"She learned to swim at an early age and later joined the university's competitive team."
To cross a particular body of water or cover a specified distance by propelling oneself through the water.
"Athletes from around the world train for years to swim the English Channel."
To float on the surface of a liquid or be thoroughly covered and immersed in liquid.
"The roasted vegetables were served swimming in a rich garlic and herb butter."
To experience a dizzy, whirling, or disoriented sensation, or to appear to whirl and blur before the eyes.
"The complex financial figures on the spreadsheet began to swim before his tired eyes."
• noun
An act or period of propelling oneself through water for exercise, recreation, or sport.
"We went for a refreshing morning swim in the lake before breakfast."
The main current of events, social activity, or business affairs.
"After returning from her sabbatical, it took her a few weeks to get back into the swim of things at the office."
• Rhymes for swim
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English swimman ('to move in or on the water, float'), derived from Proto-Germanic *swimjanan. The sense of feeling dizzy or giddy, though similar in sound, originally came from a separate Old English word, swima ('dizziness, swoon'), before the two words merged in Middle English.