Definition

1. Verb (transitive):

   • To place something completely under the surface of a liquid, especially water.
   • To cover or inundate something completely, as if with water.

2. Verb (intransitive):

   • To sink below the surface of a liquid.
   • To disappear from view or become hidden.

Usage

• Transitive verb: Use "submerge" when an agent causes something to go under water or be covered.
• Intransitive verb: Use "submerge" when something sinks or goes under water by itself.

Examples

• Transitive use:

  • The floodwaters will submerge the coastal town.
  • To clean the blender, submerge the base in soapy water.
  • She submerged her hands in the warm water.

• Intransitive use:

  • The submarine can submerge to great depths.
  • The crocodile submerged silently beneath the surface.

Advanced Usage

• Figurative Use: To be completely overwhelmed or engrossed in something, making it imperceptible.

  • He was submerged in debt. (Meaning: He was overwhelmed by debt.)
  • Her personal worries were submerged by the demands of the crisis. (Meaning: Her worries were hidden or made insignificant by the crisis.)

• "Submerge oneself in": To devote oneself completely to an activity or subject.

  • After retiring, he submerged himself in his passion for painting.

Variants and Related Words

• Submergence (n): The action or process of submerging.

  • The submergence of the ancient city was caused by rising sea levels.

• Submersible (adj/n): Capable of being submerged; a vessel designed to operate underwater.

  • A submersible pump was used to drain the flooded basement.

• Submerged (adj): Underwater; hidden from view.

  • We explored the submerged wreck of the ship.

Synonyms

• Immerse: To dip or submerge in a liquid.
• Engulf: To surround and cover completely.
• Inundate: To flood or overwhelm.
• Plunge: To thrust or throw forcefully into a substance.

Related Phrasal Verbs/Constructions

• Submerge in: To cause to be under or covered by something, literally or figuratively.
  • The valley was submerged in fog.

Related Idioms/Phrases

• The submerged tenth: (Historical/Literary) A phrase referring to the poorest class in society, living in poverty and obscurity.
  • The report focused on the plight of the submerged tenth in the industrial city.

Verb

1. fill or cover completely, usually with water
2. put under water
   • submerge your head completely
3. cover completely or make imperceptible
   • I was drowned in work
   • The noise drowned out her speech
4. sink below the surface; go under or as if under water