swim(n = noun.act) swimming - the act of swimming; "it was the swimming they enjoyed most"; "they took a short swim in the pool"
is a kind of aquatics, water sport
has particulars: bathe, skinny-dip, dip, plunge, dive, diving, floating, natation, skin-dive, skin diving
Derived forms verb swim₂, verb swim₁

1.  swim(v = verb.motion) - travel through water; "We had to swim for 20 minutes to reach the shore"; "a big fish was swimming in the tank"
is one way to go, locomote, move, travel
Derived forms noun swim₁, noun swimmer₂, noun swimmer₁, noun swimming₁
Sample sentences: These men swim across the river; These men swim the river

2.  swim(v = verb.motion) float - be afloat either on or below a liquid surface and not sink to the bottom;
is one way to go, locomote, move, travel
Derived form noun swim₁
Sample sentences: These cars won't swim

3.  swim(v = verb.stative) - be dizzy or giddy; "my brain is swimming after the bottle of champagne"
is one way to be
Sample sentences: Somebody ----s

4.  swim(v = verb.stative) drown - be covered with or submerged in a liquid; "the meat was swimming in a fatty gravy"
is one way to be
Sample sentences: Something is ----ing PP

5.  swim(v = verb.motion) - move as if gliding through water; "this snake swims through the soil where it lives"
is one way to go, locomote, move, travel
Sample sentences: Something is ----ing PP

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. [1913 Webster]

2.  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]

3.  To be overflowed or drenched. Ps. vi. 6. [1913 Webster]
"Sudden the ditches swell, the meadows swim." [1913 Webster]

4.  Fig.: To be as if borne or floating in a fluid. [1913 Webster]
"[They] now swim in joy." [1913 Webster]

5.  To be filled with swimming animals. [1913 Webster]
"[Streams] that swim full of small fishes." [1913 Webster]

1.  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]

2.  To cause or compel to swim; to make to float; as, to swim a horse across a river. [1913 Webster]

3.  To immerse in water that the lighter parts may float; as, to swim wheat in order to select seed. [1913 Webster]

1.  The act of swimming; a gliding motion, like that of one swimming. B. Jonson. [1913 Webster]

2.  The sound, or air bladder, of a fish. [1913 Webster]

3.  A part of a stream much frequented by fish. [1913 Webster]

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

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

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.

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.

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

swim bladder, swim fins, swim meet