Definition

1. Verb (past tense of ):
   • To swim faster or better than someone: "outswam" is the simple past tense form of "outswim," meaning to surpass another person in swimming speed, distance, or skill.

Usage Examples

• (She swam faster or better than every other competitor.)
• (He was beaten in swimming by the younger athlete.)
• (The dolphin swam faster than the boat.)

Advanced Usage

• "to be outswam" (passive construction): to be defeated in a swimming contest.
  • In the final lap, he was outswam by a narrow margin. (He lost the race by a small difference in swimming speed.)

Variants and Related Words

• Outswim (verb, base form): to swim faster or better than.
  • Can you outswim a shark? (Are you able to swim faster than a shark?)
• Outswimming (present participle): the act of surpassing in swimming.
  • She is outswimming her previous personal best. (She is currently swimming faster than her best time.)
• Outswum (past participle): having been surpassed in swimming.
  • He has outswum every opponent this season. (He has beaten every opponent in swimming this season.)

Synonyms

• Beat (verb): to defeat or do better than.
  • He beat his rival in the swim race. (He defeated his rival.)
• Surpass (verb): to exceed in performance.
  • She surpassed her own record. (She did better than her previous achievement.)
• Outrace (verb): to go faster than in a race.
  • The swimmer outraced the current. (He moved faster than the water flow.)

Related Idioms

• Swim against the tide (idiom): to act in opposition to the majority opinion.
  • Although he outswam his peers, he often swam against the tide of popular thought. (He was better at swimming, but he also held unpopular views.)
• Sink or swim (idiom): to succeed or fail based on one's own efforts.
  • After being outswam by his team, he had to sink or swim in the next competition. (After losing, he had to either improve or fail.)