ENGLISH
REFERENCE

drown in

phr. v..
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford

phr. v.. to have too much of something to deal with, or to be covered by a large amount of something.

phr. v.. to be overwhelmed by an excessive amount of something; often used metaphorically for tasks, debt, or sensory input.


SIMPLE

I am drowning in paperwork this week.

CONTEXTUAL

The small charity was drowning in donations after the video went viral on social media.

COMPLEX

Despite the company's outward success, the accounts revealed they were drowning in debt and unable to meet their immediate obligations.

Particles
in
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
drown + in + object
Usage

usually used in the continuous form ('drowning in') to describe a current state of being overwhelmed.

Teaching tip

help students distinguish between the literal sense (dying in water) and this figurative sense by focusing on uncountable nouns like 'work', 'debt', or 'emails'.

Pitfall

He is drowning with work.He is drowning in work.the verb 'drown' collocations with the preposition 'in' to show the environment that is overwhelming the person.

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