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Glite Dictionary
to swamp someone with tasks

to swamp someone with tasks

6.3
To give someone more work than they can do
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : abrumar a alguien con tareas
  • My manager tends to swamp me with tasks when tight deadlines are approaching.

Examples

  • We shouldn't swamp new employees with tasks during their first week on the job.

  • If you swamp her with tasks, she might get stressed and make careless mistakes.

  • My boss always seems to swamp me with tasks when the project deadline is near.

  • During busy seasons, it's common for supervisors to swamp their employees with tasks.

  • Teachers should avoid swamping students with tasks at the beginning of the semester.

Synonyms

to overload
vsto swamp someone with tasks
93 3.7

To put too much into something so it cannot work properly

applies specifically to assigning too many tasks rather than general excesses
to overwhelm
vsto swamp someone with tasks
88 3.9

Give someone too much work or problems so they cannot cope

focuses mainly on assigning excessive tasks or work rather than other pressures
to overwork
vsto swamp someone with tasks
15 4.1

To make someone work too much so they become very tired or ill

means giving more tasks than someone can manage rather than long hard work
to bombard with
vsto swamp someone with tasks
13 5.7

To give someone many questions or requests at the same time

used for giving many tasks at once that exceed someone's ability to cope
to besiege
vsto swamp someone with tasks
12 7.8

To surround a person with many requests and questions

applies to assigning excess tasks rather than continuous personal attention
to overburden
vsto swamp someone with tasks
12 5.9

To give someone too much work or responsibility

is narrower, focusing on excess task assignments rather than broad responsibilities
to deluge
vsto swamp someone with tasks
5 7.4

To give someone so much work or so many requests that they cannot cope

focuses on giving tasks that exceed what someone can handle
to run (someone) ragged
vsto swamp someone with tasks
  • Informal
5 7.5

Make someone very tired by giving them too much work

centres on assigning too many tasks rather than on demanding attention or effort
to run ragged
vsto swamp someone with tasks
  • Informal
2 6.3

To make someone very tired by giving them too much to do

focuses on giving more tasks than someone can handle, not only causing tiredness
to run off someone's feet
vsto swamp someone with tasks
  • UK
7.1

To make someone very busy and tired with too much work

describes many assigned tasks that exceed a person's capacity rather than general tiredness

Antonyms

to simplify
99 2.5

Make something easier to understand or use

to delegate
45 3.7

To give a job and authority to someone so they do it for you

How Overwhelmed

to work into the ground
  • Informal
1 5.4
to overburden
12 5.9
to swamp someone with tasks
  • Informal
6.3
to burden
77 3.7

Surface Forms

swamp someone with tasks infinitive
swamped someone with tasks past
swamped someone with tasks past participle
swamping someone with tasks present participle
swamps someone with tasks third person singular

Morphology

swamp + someone + with + task

The meaning is directly compositional: 'swamp' (to inundate/overwhelm) combined with 'someone' and 'with tasks' clearly yields 'overwhelm a person by giving them many tasks.' The verb + 'someone with X' pattern is a common, cross-linguistically supported construction, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will very likely infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

Swamp someone with tasks comes from the picture of a person stuck in a wet, muddy swamp and unable to move. The many heavy tasks feel like water and mud around them, so the phrase means 'to overwhelm someone' with too much work.