swim

/swim/

Definition

Noun:
- The act or sport of moving through water by using the limbs: "swim" refers to the activity or instance of propelling oneself through water.
- A period or instance of swimming for pleasure or exercise: It can denote a specific session of swimming.
Verb:
- To propel oneself through water by moving the body, especially the arms and legs: The primary meaning is to move in water.
- To be covered or flooded with a liquid: To be immersed or floating in a liquid.
- To experience a sensation of dizziness or spinning: To feel as if things are moving unsteadily around you.
- To move or glide smoothly: To seem to flow or move effortlessly.

Usage and Examples

Noun:
- She goes for a morning swim every day. (She engages in the activity of swimming each morning.)
- Let's take a quick swim before lunch. (Let's have a short session of swimming.)
Verb (to move in water):
- Fish swim in the ocean. (Fish move through the water of the ocean.)
- He learned to swim when he was five. (He learned how to propel himself in water at age five.)
Verb (to be covered in liquid):
- The strawberries were swimming in cream. (The strawberries were submerged or floating in cream.)
Verb (to feel dizzy):
- The room began to swim after she stood up too quickly. (The room seemed to spin, causing dizziness.)
Verb (to glide smoothly):
- A smile swam across her face. (A smile seemed to glide smoothly onto her face.)

Advanced Usage

"to be in the swim": To be actively involved in or aware of current events, trends, or social activities.
- After joining the club, he was finally in the swim of things. (He became part of the active social scene.)
"to swim against the tide/current": To act or think in a way that is opposite to what most people are doing or believing.
- She's always swimming against the tide with her unconventional ideas. (Her ideas consistently oppose the mainstream.)
"to swim with the tide/current": To act or think in accordance with the prevailing opinion or trend.
- It's easier to swim with the tide and agree with the majority. (It's easier to conform.)

Variants and Related Words

Swimmer (n): A person or animal that swims.
- She is a competitive swimmer.
Swimming (n/adj): The activity or sport of swimming; related to swim.
- Swimming is excellent exercise.
Swimmingly (adv): Very smoothly or successfully.
- The project is going swimmingly.

Synonyms

Related Phrasal Verbs

Swim around: (Of an idea) to be present in one's mind.
- That thought has been swimming around in my head all day. (The idea has been circulating in my thoughts.)
Swim in: To be plentifully supplied with (often money).
- They are swimming in cash after winning the lottery. (They have an abundance of cash.)

Related Idioms

Sink or swim: To either fail completely or succeed by one's own efforts, without help.
- On his first day, they gave him the project and left him to sink or swim. (He had to succeed or fail independently.)
Make one's head swim: To cause someone to feel confused or dizzy.
- All these complicated instructions make my head swim. (The complexity causes mental dizziness.)

Noun

the act of swimming
- it was the swimming they enjoyed most: they took a short swim in the pool

Verb

move as if gliding through water
- this snake swims through the soil where it lives
be covered with or submerged in a liquid
- the meat was swimming in a fatty gravy
be dizzy or giddy
- my brain is swimming after the bottle of champagne
be afloat either on or below a liquid surface and not sink to the bottom
travel through water
- We had to swim for 20 minutes to reach the shore
- a big fish was swimming in the tank

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