Definition

1. Verb (transitive):
   • To swim faster or better than someone or something: "outswim" means to surpass another person or creature in swimming ability, either in speed or endurance.
   • To defeat by swimming: Used metaphorically or literally to indicate winning a competition or escaping a situation through superior swimming skill.

Usage Examples

• (She swam faster and beat her opponent.)
• (The shark was unable to swim faster than the boat to escape.)
• (He swam better than everyone else in the swimming portion.)

Advanced Usage

• "to outswim a current": to swim strongly enough to overcome the force of a water current.

  • The lifeguard had to outswim the rip current to reach the struggling swimmer. (The lifeguard swam harder and faster than the current's pull.)

• "to outswim one's limits": to push beyond one's normal swimming capacity.

  • He tried to outswim his exhaustion, but eventually had to stop. (He attempted to keep swimming despite being very tired.)

Variants and Related Words

• Outswam (verb, past tense): the past tense of "outswim."

  • She outswam everyone in the pool. (She swam faster than all others in the past.)

• Outswum (verb, past participle): the past participle form of "outswim."

  • He has never been outswum in a competition. (He has never been defeated in swimming.)

• Outswimming (verb, present participle): the act of swimming better than someone.

  • Outswimming the current requires great strength. (The action of swimming faster than the current requires strength.)

Synonyms

• Surpass in swimming: to exceed in swimming performance.
• Beat swimmingly: to defeat in a swimming contest.
• Outpace in water: to move faster than someone while swimming.

Phrasal Verbs

• Outswim against: to swim better than someone despite a disadvantage.

  • He outswam against the older competitors. (He swam faster than the older swimmers even though they had more experience.)

• Outswim through: to successfully swim past or through an obstacle or group.

  • The dolphin outswam through the pod of fish. (The dolphin swam faster and passed through the group of fish.)

Related Idioms

• Outswim the tide: to overcome a difficult situation through persistent effort, like swimming against a strong current.

  • The company had to outswim the tide of economic downturn. (The company had to work hard to survive the bad economy.)

• Outswim one's own shadow: to achieve something that seems impossible or beyond one's ability.

  • She felt like she had to outswim her own shadow to win the gold medal. (She felt she had to do something extraordinary to win.)