swim 1 S3 / swɪm / 动词 ( past tense swam / swæm / , past participle swum / swʌm / , present participle swimming )

1 move through water [不及物和及物动词] to move yourself through water using your arms and legs

swim in

We swam in the chilly water.

swim around/across etc

She could swim across the lake.

Let’s go swimming this afternoon.

kids learning to swim the backstroke

She was the first woman to swim the Channel.

2 water animals [ intransitive always + 副词 / 介词 ] when fish, ducks etc swim, they move around the water using their tails and fin s , their feet etc :

Tropical fish swam slowly around in the tank.

3 not thinking/seeing properly [不及物动词]

a) if 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) if 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 something to be covered by a lot of liquid :

potatoes swimming in thick gravy

5 swim against the tide/current etc to do or say things which are different from what most people do or say, because you do not mind being different 反义词 swim with the tide

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