swimmer

noun swim·mer \ ˈswi-mər \

|Updated on: 3 Jul 2018

Definition of swimmer

plural swimmers

: a person or animal that swims

a competitive swimmer

a fast/strong swimmer

… he liked to tell us that he had been a powerful swimmer in his youth, but I never saw him in actual water save once, and he then came out very promptly, shivering and upset.
—H. L. Mencken

a dog that is an excellent swimmer

See swimmer defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of swimmer from the Web

The search for two adult swimmers believed to have been swept into a fast-moving current in the Chicopee River on Friday will continue on Saturday, a fire official said.

— alana levene, BostonGlobe.com, "Search to resume Saturday for two swimmers missing in Chicopee River," 30 June 2018
More than 41,000 swimmers in 27 countries on six continents participated in the WLSL in 2017.

— Courant Community, "Community News For The West Hartford Edition," 12 June 2018
But after a rare false start by one of their best swimmers, their 200-yard freestyle team was disqualified, opening the door for Austin Westlake to claim the championship.

— jason mcdaniel, Houston Chronicle, "Championship swim coach retires after nearly 3 decades at Kingwood," 9 June 2018
Seventy athletes from Louisiana are preparing to compete on the national stage during the Special Olympics USA Games in Seattle, including one 19-year-old swimmer from New Orleans.

— wilborn p. nobles iii, NOLA.com, "New Orleans teen to represent Louisiana at Special Olympics USA Games," 1 June 2018
In the back of the workout place in Cherry Hill, there was a swimming pool with four lanes, two swimmers in the pool.

— mike jensen, Philly.com, "Former Temple big man Ron Rollerson, having lost a leg, finds a new sport," 24 May 2018
Each of her four daughters has volunteered for the Special Olympics, as have her swimmers from Dr. Phillips High.

— mike candelaria, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Meet a few Central Floridians who give back by volunteering," 23 Apr. 2018
The swimmer who was found responsible has not commented since Shaw’s tweet went viral, but his attorney has been outspoken on social media.

— jenny dial creech, San Antonio Express-News, "Sexual assault case leads to questions of proper punishment at Texas A&M," 13 June 2018
The swimmer who was found responsible has not commented since the victim's tweet went viral, but his attorney has been outspoken on social media.

— jenny dial creech, Houston Chronicle, "Texas A&M's handling of sexual assault case questioned," 13 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'swimmer.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.