Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Swim

Swim

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp.
Swam
or
Swum
;
p. p.
Swum
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Swimming
.]
[AS.
swimman
; akin to D.
zwemmen
, OHG.
swimman
, G.
schwimmen
, Icel.
svimma
, Dan.
swömme
, Sw.
simma
. Cf.
Sound
an air bladder, a strait.]
1.
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
.
2.
To move progressively in water by means of strokes with the hands and feet, or the fins or the tail.
Leap in with me into this angry flood,
And
swim
to yonder point.
Shakespeare
3.
To be overflowed or drenched.
Ps. vi. 6.
Sudden the ditches swell, the meadows
swim
.
Thomson.
4.
Fig.: To be as if borne or floating in a fluid.
[They] now
swim
in joy.
Milton.
5.
To be filled with swimming animals.
[Obs.]
[Streams] that
swim
full of small fishes.
Chaucer.

Swim

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To pass or move over or on by swimming;
as, to
swim
a stream
.
Sometimes he thought to
swim
the stormy main.
Dryden.
2.
To cause or compel to swim; to make to float;
as, to
swim
a horse across a river
.
3.
To immerse in water that the lighter parts may float;
as, to
swim
wheat in order to select seed
.

Swim

,
Noun.
1.
The act of swimming; a gliding motion, like that of one swimming.
B. Jonson.
2.
The sound, or air bladder, of a fish.
3.
A part of a stream much frequented by fish.
[Eng.]
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

,
Verb.
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
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Swim

SWIM

, v.i.
1.
To float; to be supported on water or other fluid; not to sink. Most species of wood will swim in water. Any substance will swim, whose specific gravity is less than that of the fluid in which it is immersed.
2.
To move progressively in water by means of the motion of the hands and feet, or of fins. In Paris, boys are taught to swim by instructors appointed for that purpose. Is.25.
Leap in with me into this angry flood,
And swim to yonder point.
3.
To float; to be borne along by a current. In all states there are men who will swim with the tide of popular opinion.
4.
To glide along with a smooth motion, or with a waving motion.
She with pretty and with swimming gait.
A hov'ring mist came swimming o'er his sight.
5.
To be dizzy or vertiginous; to have a waving motion of the head or a sensation of that kind, or a reeling of the body. The head swims when we walk on high.
6.
To be floated; to be overflowed or drenched; as,the earth swims in rain.
Sudden the ditches swell, the meadows swim.
All the night I make my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears. Ps.6.
7.
To overflow; to abound; to have abundance.
They now swim in joy.

SWIM

,
Verb.
T.
To pass or move on; as, to swim a stream. Deer are known to swim rivers and sounds.
Sometimes he thought to swim the stormy main.
1.
To immerse in water that the lighter parts may swim; as, to swim wheat for seed.

Similar Results