swim

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle), Verb (intransitive), Verb (transitive)
• COUNT in NET: 3 in 3 verses (in OT : 2 in 2 verses) (in NT : 1 in 1 verses)

CIDE DICTIONARY

swim, v. i. [AS. swimman; akin to D. zwemmen, OHG. swimman, G. schwimmen, Icel. svimma, Dan. swömme, Sw. simma. Cf. Sound an air bladder, a strait.].

•  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]
•  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."  [1913 Webster]
•  To be overflowed or drenched.  Ps. vi. 6.  [1913 Webster]

  "Sudden the ditches swell, the meadows swim."  [1913 Webster]
•  Fig.: To be as if borne or floating in a fluid.  [1913 Webster]

  "[They] now swim in joy."  [1913 Webster]
•  To be filled with swimming animals.  [1913 Webster]

  "[Streams] that swim full of small fishes."  [1913 Webster]

swim, v. t. 

•  To pass or move over or on by swimming; as, to swim a stream.  [1913 Webster]

  "Sometimes he thought to swim the stormy main."  [1913 Webster]
•  To cause or compel to swim; to make to float; as, to swim a horse across a river.  [1913 Webster]
•  To immerse in water that the lighter parts may float; as, to swim wheat in order to select seed.  [1913 Webster]

swim, n. 

•  The act of swimming; a gliding motion, like that of one swimming.  B. Jonson.  [1913 Webster]
•  The sound, or air bladder, of a fish.  [1913 Webster]
•  A part of a stream much frequented by fish.  [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.]

swim, v. i. [OE. swime dizziness, vertigo, AS. swīma; akin to D. zwijm, Icel. svimi dizziness, svina to subside, svīa to abate, G. schwindel dizziness, schwinden to disappear, to dwindle, OHG. swīnan to dwindle. Cf. Squemish, Swindler.].

 To be dizzy; to have an unsteady or reeling sensation; as, the head swims.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

swim, v. & n.
--v. (swimming; past swam; past part. swum)
1 intr. propel the body through water by working the arms and legs, or (of a fish) the fins and tail.
2 tr. a traverse (a stretch of water or its distance) by swimming. b compete in (a race) by swimming. c use (a particular stroke) in swimming.
3 intr. float on or at the surface of a liquid (bubbles swimming on the surface).
4 intr. appear to undulate or reel or whirl.
5 intr. have a dizzy effect or sensation (my head swam).
6 intr. (foll. by in, with) be flooded.
--n.
1 a spell or the act of swimming.
2 a deep pool frequented by fish in a river.

Idiom

in the swim involved in or acquainted with what is going on. swim-bladder a gas-filled sac in fishes used to maintain buoyancy. swimming-bath (or -pool) an artificial indoor or outdoor pool for swimming. swimming-costume Brit. a garment worn for swimming.

Derivative

swimmable adj. swimmer n.

Etymology

OE swimman f. Gmc

THESAURUS

swim

Australian crawl, aquaplaning, aquatics, backstroke, balneation, bathe, bathing, bon ton, breaststroke, butterfly, convention, crawl, custom, dive, diving, dog paddle, fashion, fin, fishtail, flapper, flipper, float, floating, go in swimming, go in wading, haute couture, high fashion, mode, natation, prevailing taste, proper thing, reel, sidestroke, skinny-dip, stream of fashion, style, surfboarding, surfing, swimming, tread water, treading water, trend, turn, vogue, wade, wading, waterskiing, whirl

ROGET THESAURUS

swim

Navigation

VB sail, put to sea, take ship, get under way, set sail, spread sail, spread canvas, gather way, have way on, make sail, carry sail, plow the waves, plow the deep, plow the main, plow the ocean, walk the waters, navigate, warp, luff, scud, boom, kedge, drift, course, cruise, coast, hug the shore, hug the land, circumnavigate, ply the oar, row, paddle, pull, scull, punt, steam, swim, float, buffet the waves, ride the storm, skim, effleurer, dive, wade, fly, be wafted, hover, soar, flutter, jet, orbit, rocket, take wing, take a flight, take off, ascend, blast off, land, alight, wing one's flight, wing one's way, aviate, parachute, jump, glide.

Ascent

VB ascend, rise, mount, arise, uprise, go up, get up, work one's way up, start up, shoot up, go into orbit, float up, bubble up, aspire, climb, clamber, ramp, scramble, escalade, surmount, shin, shinny, shinney, scale, scale the heights, raise, elevate, go aloft, fly aloft, tower, soar, take off, spring up, pop up, jump up, catapult upwards, explode upwards, hover, spire, plane, swim, float, surge, leap.

Levity

VB be light, float, rise, swim, be buoyed up, render light, lighten, leaven.