submerge

verb

sub·​merge səb-ˈmərj 

submerged; submerging

transitive verb

1

: to put under water

2

: to cover or overflow with water

3

: to make obscure or subordinate : suppress

personal lives submerged by professional responsibilities

intransitive verb

: to go under water

submergence

səb-ˈmər-jən(t)s 

noun

submergible

səb-ˈmər-jə-bəl 

adjective

Synonyms of submerge

• engulf
• flood
• overwhelm
• drown

Examples of submerge in a Sentence

After boiling the broccoli, submerge it in ice water to stop the cooking process.

The town was submerged by the flood.

We watched as the divers prepared to submerge.

She's a marvelous actress who submerges herself totally in her roles.

Recent Examples on the Web

Video shared by Texas Game Wardens showed vehicles submerged and being swept away in water. — Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 17 July 2026

On a recent weekday, Mitrano Neves and his team lowered monitoring equipment loaded with cameras into different parts of the cove, leaving them submerged for an hour alongside bait to attract the sharks. — ABC News, 17 July 2026

Trump’s speech tonight rested on a few solid facts submerged in wild, and even somewhat paranoid, extrapolations. — Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 17 July 2026

In the mural, the figure’s lower half seems to be submerged in swirling water. — Anne Doran, ARTnews.com, 17 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Latin submergere, from sub- + mergere to plunge — more at merge

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for submerge

• converge
• diverge
• emerge
• upsurge
• demiurge
• dirge
• merge
• purge
• scourge
• serge
• splurge
• spurge

Kids Definition

submerge

verb

sub·​merge səb-ˈmərj 

submerged; submerging

1

: to put or go underwater

the whale submerged

2

: to cover or become covered with or as if with water

floods submerged the town