submerge

verb

sub·​merge səb-ˈmərj 

submerged; submerging

transitive verb

1

: to put under water

2

: to cover or overflow with water

3

: to make obscure or subordinate : suppress

personal lives submerged by professional responsibilities

intransitive verb

: to go under water

submergence

səb-ˈmər-jən(t)s 

noun

submergible

səb-ˈmər-jə-bəl 

adjective

Synonyms

• deluge
• drown
• engulf
• flood
• gulf
• inundate
• overflow
• overwhelm
• submerse
• swamp

Examples of submerge in a Sentence

After boiling the broccoli, submerge it in ice water to stop the cooking process.

The town was submerged by the flood.

We watched as the divers prepared to submerge.

She's a marvelous actress who submerges herself totally in her roles.

Recent Examples on the Web

Add just enough water to submerge the ends of the stalks, then cover the spears with a plastic bag (either a loose zip-top bag or a produce bag) and place in the refrigerator. —Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Feb. 2025

First responders arrived to find wreckage submerged in the shallow water and almost immediately started finding victims, Hoagland said. —Alaa Elassar, CNN, 2 Feb. 2025

She was found submerged in the bathtub of her hotel room a day before the Grammys. —Stephanie Nolasco, Fox News, 1 Feb. 2025

If a black box has been submerged in seawater, technicians will keep them submerged in fresh water to wash away the corrosive salt. —Ben Finley, Chicago Tribune, 31 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin submergere, from sub- + mergere to plunge — more at merge

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

submerge

verb

sub·​merge səb-ˈmərj 

submerged; submerging

1

: to put or go underwater

the whale submerged

2

: to cover or become covered with or as if with water

floods submerged the town