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to swim

to swim

133 1.0
To stay on or just below the water surface without sinking
  • verb
  • /swɪm/
translation icon : flotar
  • No, I mean, you're swimming as fast as you can to stay afloat.

Examples

  • If you live in Louisiana and don't know how to swim, now might be a good time to learn.

    Academic text (2007)
  • And once you're able to get your feet wet, you're able to swim in the pool.

  • - If something happens to the boat... - I swim back.

  • No one swam across or took a boat.

  • I am an Englishman; I swim in the North Sea; I like cold water.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • And then I dove into the ocean and I swam with the dolphins.

  • The attackers cannot swim.

  • The earplugs were removed after the patient swam underwater and the canal was visually checked for water.

    Academic text (1995)
  • He swims with his pet alligator or crocodile.

  • She learned to swim when she was five years old and now enjoys it every summer.

Synonyms

to float
vsto swim
645 1.0

To stay or move on water without sinking, sometimes in the air

is about being on or just below the water surface, not only on top
to bathe
vsto swim
16 1.4

To swim for pleasure in the sea or pool

is neutral action of being afloat in water, not limited to leisure use
to crawl
vsto swim
  • Specialized
11 3.9

To swim using the stroke where you move one arm at a time and kick

is general action of being on or below the water surface, not one technique
to take a dip
vsto swim
  • Jargon
7 2.8

To go into the water for a short time to swim or cool off

is general action of being on or below the water surface, not only briefly
to paddle
vsto swim
7 2.5

To play or move in shallow water by splashing

is general staying on or below the water surface, not limited to shallow splashing

Antonyms

258 1.0

To go down below the surface of water and become underwater

Idioms

1 8.6

Someone who takes part in and knows what is happening in a group

can a duck swim
  • Informal
9.5

A question people ask to show the answer is clearly yes

8.4

To start taking part in an activity or group

Phrasal Verbs

to swim upstream
  • Informal
4 5.3

To move against a river current or to keep trying when many people are against you

Compounds

5 2.4

An event where swimmers from different teams race each other

swim bladder
  • Specialized
1 5.0

An air sac in many fish that helps them stay at a certain depth in water

How Buoyant

to float
645 1.0
to swim
133 1.0
to bob
24 2.7
to sink
258 1.0
to submerge
42 3.9

Surface Forms

swim infinitive
swimming present participle
swims third person singular
swam past
swum past participle

Etymology

Swim originally meant moving in or on water, and from this image it also came to mean 'to float', so if something 'swims' on the surface it stays up and does not sink.