swim

swim¹ [swım] v past tense swam [swæm] past participle swum [swʌm] present participle swimming

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1¦(move through water)¦

2¦(water animals)¦

3¦(not thinking/seeing properly)¦

4 be swimming in something

5 swim against the tide/current etc

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[: Old English; Origin: swimman]

1.) ¦(MOVE THROUGH WATER)¦ [I and T]

to move yourself through water using your arms and legs

swim in

▪ We swam in the chilly water.

swim around/across etc

▪ She could swim across the lake.

▪ Let's go swimming this afternoon.

▪ kids learning to swim the backstroke

▪ She was the first woman to swim the Channel.

2.) ¦(WATER ANIMALS)¦ [I always + adverb/preposition]

when fish, ducks etc swim, they move around the water using their tails and ↑fins, their feet etc

▪ Tropical fish swam slowly around in the tank.

3.) ¦(NOT THINKING/SEEING PROPERLY)¦

a) if your head swims, you start to feel confused or that everything is spinning around

▪ My head was swimming after looking at that screen all day.

b) if something you are looking at swims, it seems to be moving around, usually because you are ill, tired, or drunk

▪ The numbers swam before my eyes.

4.) be swimming in sth

to be covered by a lot of liquid

▪ potatoes swimming in thick gravy

5.) swim against the tide/current etc

to do or say things which are different from what most people do or say, because you do not mind being different

≠ ↑swim with the tide

→sink or swim [i]at ↑sink¹ (15)

swim ²

swim² n

1.) a period of time that you spend swimming

▪ Let's go for a swim .

2.) in the swim (of things) informal knowing about and involved in what is happening in a particular situation