SWIM - Definition & Meaning for Kids
Meaning 1
Part of speech: Verb
travel through water
Example: We had to swim for 20 minutes to reach the shore; a big fish was swimming in the tank
Categories: Travel, Go, Move, Locomote
Meaning 2
Part of speech: Verb
be dizzy or giddy
Example: my brain is swimming after the bottle of champagne
Categories: Be
Meaning 3
Part of speech: Verb
be covered with or submerged in a liquid
Example: the meat was swimming in a fatty gravy
Categories: Be
Meaning 4
Part of speech: Verb
move as if gliding through water
Example: this snake swims through the soil where it lives
Categories: Travel, Go, Move, Locomote
Synonyms
Antonyms
🌱 Word Origin (Etymology)
The word "swim" comes from Old English swima. It started in Middle English swime. Then it appeared in Proto-Indo-European *swem(bʰ)-. Later, people used it in Proto-Germanic *swimmaną. After that, it was Proto-West Germanic *swimman. Over time, it became Old English swimman. Finally, it reached Middle English swimmen. Many other languages have similar words:.
- Scots: sweem
- Saterland Frisian: swimme
- West Frisian: swimme
- Dutch: zwemmen
- German: schwimmen
- Danish: svømme
- Swedish: simma
- Norwegian Nynorsk: symja
🧩 Fun Fact
Each language in this chain added phonetic changes that transformed the original sound.