1
a
: to propel oneself in water by natural means (such as movements of the limbs, fins, or tail)
b
: to play in the water (as at a beach or swimming pool)
2
: to move with a motion like that of swimming : glide
a cloud swam slowly across the moon
3
a
: to float on a liquid : not sink
b
: to surmount difficulties : not go under
sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish—
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster4
: to become immersed in or flooded with or as if with a liquid
potatoes swimming in gravy
5
: to have a floating or reeling appearance or sensation
1
a
: to cross by propelling oneself through water
swim a stream
b
: to execute in swimming
2
: to cause to swim or float
1
: a smooth gliding motion
2
: an act or period of swimming
3
: a temporary dizziness or unconsciousness
4
a
: an area frequented by fish
b
: the main current of activity
in the swim
Synonyms
Examples of swim in a Sentence
Verb
He's teaching the children to swim.
She swam across the pool.
He swam the English Channel.
The racers must swim the backstroke.
We watched the fish swimming in the river.
Ducks swam in the pond.
I felt weak and my head was swimming.
The room swam before my eyes.
Noun
the merest glimpse of blood sends him into a swim
Recent Examples on the Web
Carrie Honaker, Travel + Leisure, 3 Feb. 2025
Zoom in: Divers worked in 20-minute shifts around the wreckage, swimming through the pitch-black depths and taking breaks at times to replace their suits, torn by debris.
—Cuneyt Dil, Axios, 31 Jan. 2025
Jack Irvin, People.com, 5 Feb. 2025
The swim body’s world-leading rules additionally require transgender women athletes who did not benefit from male puberty to maintain testosterone levels below 2.5 nmol/L.
World Aquatics is not actively testing junior athletes.
—Forbes, 28 Jan. 2025
SELF, 5 Aug. 2024
From fit, lining, waistband, fabric, and occasion, board shorts actually differ from swim trunks in many ways.
—Maverick Li, menshealth.com, 5 May 2023
See all Example Sentences for swim 
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Verb
Guided nature walks and hikes provided up-close encounters with more of the region’s flora and fauna, as well as the opportunity to swim in the rushing waters of one of the property’s majestic waterfalls.
—Carrie Honaker, Travel + Leisure, 3 Feb. 2025
Zoom in: Divers worked in 20-minute shifts around the wreckage, swimming through the pitch-black depths and taking breaks at times to replace their suits, torn by debris.
—Cuneyt Dil, Axios, 31 Jan. 2025
Noun
Boone, 22, attended Monroe High School in Washington and became one of its youngest divers on the swim team as a freshman, The Dispatch reported in 2020.
—Jack Irvin, People.com, 5 Feb. 2025
The swim body’s world-leading rules additionally require transgender women athletes who did not benefit from male puberty to maintain testosterone levels below 2.5 nmol/L.
World Aquatics is not actively testing junior athletes.
—Forbes, 28 Jan. 2025
Adjective
Team Great Britain also mentioned their triathletes would be thoroughly scrubbed down with disinfectant after swimming, another strategy Dr. Sullivan greenlights—and the sooner post-swim, the better.
—SELF, 5 Aug. 2024
From fit, lining, waistband, fabric, and occasion, board shorts actually differ from swim trunks in many ways.
—Maverick Li, menshealth.com, 5 May 2023
See all Example Sentences for swim
Articles Related to swim
Dictionary Entries Near swim
Cite this Entry
“Swim.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/swim. Accessed 16 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
swim
2 of 2 noun1
: an act or period of swimming
2
: the main current of activity
in the swim of things
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