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as in hovered
to rest or move along the surface of a liquid or in the air
there appeared to be an oily film swimming on the water
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of swam
In a stream of southern China filled with plant debris, a pinkish river creature with wrinkly lips swam through the murk, perhaps searching for a meal or a mate.
—
Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 27 Oct. 2025
The incident comes days after a family in Massachusetts similarly swam ashore to a nearby island off the coast of Cape Cod.
—Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
Without breaking stride, Roach swam over Schlottman, squeezed past Van Roten, and stuffed Giants rookie running back Cam Skattebo.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 23 Oct. 2025
The archives stated that after the attack, more than 1,000 POWs ended up in the water as the ship sank, and many of them swam toward land, where Japanese military recaptured a lot.
—Shannon Tyler, Idaho Statesman, 10 Oct. 2025
Carter swam inside behind Ojomo and had a clear path to Mayfield.
—Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
Mickey piloted the boat to the cliffs, dropped anchor, and the four of them swam to shore.
—David Wright Faladé, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2025
After copulating, the two males lay immobile on the seafloor as the female swam away.
—Jack Guy, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2025
Then the other shark moved in, did his business, went motionless, and the female shark swam away.
—Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 23 Sep. 2025
Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 27 Oct. 2025
The incident comes days after a family in Massachusetts similarly swam ashore to a nearby island off the coast of Cape Cod.
—Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
Without breaking stride, Roach swam over Schlottman, squeezed past Van Roten, and stuffed Giants rookie running back Cam Skattebo.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 23 Oct. 2025
The archives stated that after the attack, more than 1,000 POWs ended up in the water as the ship sank, and many of them swam toward land, where Japanese military recaptured a lot.
—Shannon Tyler, Idaho Statesman, 10 Oct. 2025
Carter swam inside behind Ojomo and had a clear path to Mayfield.
—Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
Mickey piloted the boat to the cliffs, dropped anchor, and the four of them swam to shore.
—David Wright Faladé, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2025
After copulating, the two males lay immobile on the seafloor as the female swam away.
—Jack Guy, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2025
Then the other shark moved in, did his business, went motionless, and the female shark swam away.
—Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 23 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swam
Verb
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Under intense pressure from all angles, Gonzalez spun with the ball, taking out three men, and found Doku.—
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
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For these reasons and others, Duan says that his team has spun HLS into a startup company—Convergency Biotech—with the goal to develop HLS workstations user-friendly enough for any lab.—
Perri Thaler,
IEEE Spectrum,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The paradigmatic helicopter parent hovered from a distance and in most cases didn’t follow their child to college.—
Russell Shaw,
The Atlantic,
2 Nov. 2025
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Kansas City's brisk temperatures hovered in the low 50s as the red-and-gold looked to extend its winning record.—
Bryan West,
USA Today,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The Osumi Strait transit also indicates that the Kaiyangxing sailed around three of Japan's four main islands—Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu—excluding Hokkaido.—
Ryan Chan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
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He was challenged by former Council Member Lisa Sanchez and Lynn Bradescu, but Hallyburton sailed to victory, garnering more than 70% of the vote.—
Shaun Goodwin,
Idaho Statesman,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
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There are several high-profile college football coaching jobs available midway through the 2025 season — and all-time great coach Nick Saban is a popular name floated as a potential candidate.—
Matt Audilet,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
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Casten even floated using that process to check the judicial branch.—
Eleanor Mueller,
semafor.com,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The coal drifted from Plumas County and into Butte County, said Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire during a Placer County Board of Supervisors meeting in August.—
Ishani Desai,
Sacbee.com,
30 Oct. 2025
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The transients do not seem to be particles of nuclear fallout that have drifted down onto the photographic plate either, since such particles would produce foggy, diffuse spots, not pinpoint, star-like objects.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Swam.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swam. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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