to swim
14
7.4
- verb
- /swɪm/
- Informal
:
marearse
- I closed my eyes, my head swimming with the heavy scent of her cologne.
- head was swimming
Lines enter our ears, lines swim before our faces.
- Lines enter our ears, lines swim before our faces.
- It's just the insights and the perceptions and the healing that that are sort of swimming around in this whole thing.
- I couldn't touch the jar, its stench made my head swim.
Examples
-
Wulfrith hurried after, his head swimming with every step his horse took.
Fiction book (1993) -
I don't know if all grooms have the same experience,... ..but as Kicking Bird began to speak... ..about what was expected of a Sioux husband,... ..my mind began to swim in a way that shut out everything but her.
-
Every time I look at a book, the letters start swimming around on the page.
-
Jane could feel her heart beat faster as the room swam around her.
Academic text (2011) -
His expression was carefully neutral, but his eyes swam suddenly with tears.
Fiction book (1991) -
My head was swimming.
-
My head is swimming.
-
And you'll be back pounding the pavement so quick, it'll make your head swim.
-
Every time I look at a book, the letters start swimming around on the page.
-
Patient: I feel really dizzy, and things tend to swim in and out of focus.
Idioms
Phrasal Verbs
- Informal
4
5.3
To move against a river current or to keep trying when many people are against you
Compounds
- Specialized
1
5.0
An air sac in many fish that helps them stay at a certain depth in water
How Dizzy
Surface Forms
Etymology
Swim can also mean to feel dizzy or confused. A helpful way to remember this is to imagine water moving around your head, so when your head 'swims' your thoughts seem to move and you feel unsteady.