Meaning of “swim” in the English Dictionary

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"swim" in English

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swimverb

uk ​ /swɪm/ us ​ /swɪm/ present participle swimming, past tense swam, past participle swum

swim verb (MOVE IN WATER)

A1 [ I or T ] to move through water by moving the body or parts of the body:

We spent the day on the beach but it was too cold to go swimming.
Her ambition is to swim (across) the English Channel.
I swam two miles this morning.
be swimming in/with sth disapproving

› If food is swimming in/with a liquid, it has too much of that liquid in it or on it:

The salad was swimming in oil.

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swim verb (SEEM TO MOVE)

› [ I ] (of an object) to seem to move around:

Getting up too suddenly made the room swim before her eyes.

› [ I ] If your head swims, you feel confused and are unable to think or see clearly:

After the second or third drink, my head began to swim.

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swimnoun [ S ]

uk ​ /swɪm/ us ​ /swɪm/

A2 a time when you swim:

Let's go for/have a swim this afternoon.

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swimmer
noun [ C ] uk ​ /ˈswɪm.ər/ us ​ /ˈswɪm.ɚ/

B1

Oliver is a very strong swimmer.
swimming
noun [ U ] uk ​ /ˈswɪm.ɪŋ/ us ​ /ˈswɪm.ɪŋ/

Examples

A2

The doctor recommended swimming as the best all-round exercise.

(Definition of “swim” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

"swim" in American English

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swimverb [ I/T ]

us ​ /swɪm/ present participle swimming, past tense swam /swæm/ , past participle swum /swʌm/

› to move through water by moving parts of the body:

[ I ] He jumped in the river and swam.
[ T ] Gertrude Ederle was the first woman to swim the English Channel.
swim
noun [ C ] us ​ /swɪm/

›

Let’s go for a swim this afternoon.
swimmer
noun [ C ] us ​ /ˈswɪm·ər/

›

Katy is a good swimmer.
swimming
noun [ U ] us ​ /ˈswɪm·ɪŋ/

›

Swimming is excellent exercise.

Idiom(s)

be swimming in something

(Definition of “swim” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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