Word
swim
US/ˈswɪm/
UK/swˈɪm/
Irregular verb
Forms
Infinitive
swim
Past
swam
Past participle
swum
Definitions
01to move in water
A1 · Beginner
v. to move through water by moving your arms and legs.
v. to propel oneself through water by means of bodily movement. Intransitive or transitive when taking a distance or stroke as an object.
日本語:泳ぐ※
Español:nadar
“We like to swim in the ocean during the summer holidays.”
“The athlete managed to swim the entire length of the channel despite the freezing temperatures and strong currents.”
Pitfall
I have swam in that lake before.
I have swum in that lake before.
The past participle of 'swim' is 'swum', not 'swam'.
02to be dizzy
B2 · Upper Intermediate
v. to feel dizzy or like everything is spinning around you.
v. to experience a sensation of dizziness or vertigo, often as a result of illness or shock.
“The room started to swim after I stood up too quickly.”
“His head began to swim as he looked down from the edge of the skyscraper, overwhelmed by a sudden bout of vertigo.”
03to be covered in liquid
B2 · Upper Intermediate
v. to be covered or filled with a lot of liquid.
v. to be immersed in or overflowing with a liquid; often used figuratively to describe abundance.
“The pasta was swimming in a rich tomato sauce.”
“The small village was swimming in floodwater after the river burst its banks during the storm.”
04an act of swimming
A2 · Elementary Countable noun
n. a period of time spent swimming for fun or exercise.
n. an instance or duration of swimming, typically for recreation or fitness.
“A quick swim in the morning always makes me feel awake.”
“After a long day of hiking, the cool water of the lake provided a refreshing swim for the exhausted group.”
Collocations
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “swim” in context.
Verb
01. swim breaststroke
“It is often easier to swim breaststroke if you want to keep your hair dry.”
verb + noun
02. swim competitively
“He started to swim competitively when he was only eight years old.”
verb + adv
03. swim laps
“I try to swim laps at the local pool every morning before work.”
verb + noun
04. swim underwater
“She can swim underwater for nearly two minutes without coming up for air.”
verb + adv
Noun
05. go for swim
“The lake is very clean, so let's go for a swim this afternoon.”
verb + prep + noun
06. head is swimming
“There was so much information that my head was swimming.”
07. head starts to swim
“The room felt hot and my head started to swim after the long presentation.”
08. swim against the tide
“He decided to swim against the tide and start a print magazine in the digital age.”
09. swim in the ocean
“We love to swim in the ocean during our summer holidays.”
10. swim like a fish
“Having grown up by the coast, all the children there swim like fish.”
Etymology
From Middle English swymmen, from Old English swimman (“to swim, float”) (class III strong verb; past tense swamm, past participle geswummen), from Proto-West Germanic swimman, from Proto-Germanic swimmaną (“to swim”), from Proto-Indo-European *swem(bʰ)- (“to be unsteady, move, swim”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian sweem, swome, swume, swumi, swumme, swääm (“to swim”), Saterland Frisian and West Frisian swimme (“to swim”), Dutch zwemmen (“to swim”), German schwimmen (“to swim”), Limburgish schwämme, zwömme (“to swim”), Low German swimmen (“to swim”), Luxembourgish schwammen (“to swim”), Vilamovian švymma, śwyma, śwymma (“to swim”), Yiddish שווימען (shvimen, “to swim”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål svømme (“to swim”), Faroese svimja (“to swim”), Norn suma (“to swim”), Norwegian Nynorsk svemja, svemje, svømma, svømme, symja, symje (“to swim”), Swedish simma (“to swim”).
From Middle English swime, sweme, swaime (“a dizziness, swoon, trance”), from Old English swīma (“a swoon, swimming in the head”). Cognate with Swedish svimma (“to swoon, faint”) and Danish svime (“to swoon, faint”) / Danish besvime (“to swoon, faint”).
Abbreviation of someone who isn't me.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
VERB
Idioms
01. swim upstream
02. swim with sharks
Domain
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.B1 PreliminaryIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.4.0–5.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 3.0–3.544–71TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.550–784
- Frequency
- Common
- Level
- B1 · IntermediateOxford
- Updated
- アルファベット
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QR code
englishreference.com/q/swim
※ 機械で選んだ訳語です。ネイティブスピーカーによる確認はまだです。
「日本語」 data: JMdict (EDRDG), CC BY-SA 4.0
Traducciones: Kaikki.org (Wiktionary), CC BY-SA 4.0