Dictionary-Definition.com :: SWIM definition

Definition of 'swim'

noun

The act of swimming; "it was the swimming they enjoyed most": "they took a short swim in the pool" [syn: swimming, swim]

verb

Travel through water; "We had to swim for 20 minutes to reach the shore"; "a big fish was swimming in the tank"

verb

Be afloat either on or below a liquid surface and not sink to the bottom [syn: float, swim] [ant: go down, go under, settle, sink]

verb

Be dizzy or giddy; "my brain is swimming after the bottle of champagne"

verb

Be covered with or submerged in a liquid; "the meat was swimming in a fatty gravy" [syn: swim, drown]

verb

Move as if gliding through water; "this snake swims through the soil where it lives"

From: GCIDE

Swim \Swim\, v. t.
1. To pass or move over or on by swimming; as, to swim a stream. [1913 Webster]
Sometimes he thought to swim the stormy main. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
2. To cause or compel to swim; to make to float; as, to swim a horse across a river. [1913 Webster]
3. To immerse in water that the lighter parts may float; as, to swim wheat in order to select seed. [1913 Webster]

From: GCIDE

Swim \Swim\, v. i. [imp. Swamor Swum; p. p. Swum; p. pr. & vb. n. Swimming.] [AS. swimman; akin to D. zwemmen, OHG. swimman, G. schwimmen, Icel. svimma, Dan. sw["o]mme, Sw. simma. Cf. Sound an air bladder, a strait.]
1. To be supported by water or other fluid; not to sink; to float; as, any substance will swim, whose specific gravity is less than that of the fluid in which it is immersed. [1913 Webster]
2. To move progressively in water by means of strokes with the hands and feet, or the fins or the tail. [1913 Webster]
Leap in with me into this angry flood, And swim to yonder point. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
3. To be overflowed or drenched. --Ps. vi. 6. [1913 Webster]
Sudden the ditches swell, the meadows swim. --Thomson. [1913 Webster]
4. Fig.: To be as if borne or floating in a fluid. [1913 Webster]
[They] now swim in joy. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
5. To be filled with swimming animals. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
[Streams] that swim full of small fishes. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

From: GCIDE

Swim \Swim\, n.
1. The act of swimming; a gliding motion, like that of one swimming. --B. Jonson. [1913 Webster]
2. The sound, or air bladder, of a fish. [1913 Webster]
3. A part of a stream much frequented by fish. [Eng.] [1913 Webster]
Swim bladder, an air bladder of a fish.
To be in the swim, to be in a favored position; to be associated with others in active affairs. [Colloq.] [1913 Webster]

From: GCIDE

Swim \Swim\, v. i. [OE. swime dizziness, vertigo, AS. sw[imac]ma; akin to D. zwijm, Icel. svimi dizziness, svina to subside, sv[imac]a to abate, G. schwindel dizziness, schwinden to disappear, to dwindle, OHG. sw[imac]nan to dwindle. Cf. Squemish, Swindler.] To be dizzy; to have an unsteady or reeling sensation; as, the head swims. [1913 Webster]