From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishldoce_325_gswimswim1 /swɪm/ ●●● S3 verb (past tense swam /swæm/, past participle swum /swʌm/, present participle swimming) 1 move through water [intransitive, transitive]DSS to move yourself through water using your arms and legsswim in We swam in the chilly water.swim around/across etc She could swim across the lake. kids learning to swim the backstroke She was the first woman to swim the Channel.2 water animals [intransitive 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 [intransitive] a) CONFUSEDBALANCEif 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) CLEAR/EASY TO SEEif 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 something5 → swim against the tide/current etc → sink or swim at sink1(15)→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
swim• In the afternoons they sunbathed and swam.• You swim a few laps, lie in the sun, eat a burger.• Just as he was beginning to get worried in case she had gone too far, she turned and swam back.• Dad swims fifty laps in the pool every morning.• For a moment, tears swam in his eyes and he fought for control.• To swim in it is dangerous, unnecessary and probably obscene.• Slowly and carefully I swam round the dark walls of the castle.• I don't like swimming the breaststroke.• I didn't learn to swim until I was ten years old.• Steinkamp swam up to it and stuck her thumbs in her ears, seemingly making a childish face at it.swim around/across etc• Even birds need toys - fish must have some plants and rocks to swim around.• He swam across the lake towards the silted-up island in the middle where a pair of swans nested.• Silently, he went down into the water and swam across the moat.• People remembered his slogans, his grand speeches, his swim across the open river as an old man.• Six weeks earlier he had been able to swim around the raft wearing shorts and a shirt.• With powerful strokes, he swam across to the pillar, which was still elevated from my own adventure.• Suddenly, I was in a strange world where schools of curious small, yellow fish swam around us and between us.• For hours the magician swam around, with the normally chatty parrot perched silently on his shoulder.swimswim2 ●●○ noun [countable] 1 DSSa period of time that you spend swimming Let’s go for a swim.2 → in the swim (of things)Examples from the Corpus
swim• I was very disappointed to find that the family swim session has been canceled this year.• She should also have a 30-minute swim.• I took off my glasses, left them on my towel on the tiles, and went for a quick swim.go for ... swim• Go for a swim and lie in the sun and talk about their lives.• I pointed to the bathing lockers where we could leave our things and go for a swim.• Take her along when I go for a swim, have her over for lunch.• Time to write a poem, go for a swim, take diet pills.• Let's go for a swim.Origin swim1 Old English swimman 