SWIMMING Synonyms: 32 Similar and Opposite Words

swimming

verb

Definition of swimming

present participle of swim

as in spinning

to be in a confused state as if from being twirled around his head was swimming after he was given so much information on his first day at the new job

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in sailing

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of swimming That teen's death came less than a week after police issued a warning about swimming in the Milford quarry. — Matt Schooley, CBS News, 16 Aug. 2026 Douglass opted not to race the individual 100, instead swimming the 100 breaststroke Thursday. — Peter Baugh, New York Times, 15 Aug. 2026 Several people were swimming from an anchored boat to Chicken Rock, a popular boat gathering and cliff jumping spot, located at the northern part of the lake in Sherman. — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 15 Aug. 2026 Jack Roney, 39, was swimming in six feet of water at a Raleigh pool, holding his breath for an extended period of time before resurfacing. — Chip Alexander, Charlotte Observer, 12 Aug. 2026 Have your own postcard worthy memory with Smile N’ Wave, a charter company that offers sails that specialize in everything from snorkeling to swimming to dolphin chasing from their shaded 31-foot catamaran. — Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 12 Aug. 2026 The attack happened Saturday afternoon in the Silver River in Marion County, where Spann was swimming with a group, the New York Post reported. — Kelly McGreal, FOXNews.com, 12 Aug. 2026 Like the canal the two girls like to go swimming in as kids, their lives are never the same each time Sanguinetti’s lenses dip into them. — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 11 Aug. 2026 With the incident over the weekend, a bystander reported seeing the lifeguard’s rescue torpedo come about 6 to 8 feet out of the water, shortly after the lifeguard had begun swimming back toward shore. — Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 10 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for swimming

Verb

Hubble’s images reveal an intricate web of gas and dust spreading outward from the explosion’s center, where a rapidly spinning neutron star remains.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 15 Aug. 2026
In his 12 seasons at Penn State, James Franklin went 4-21 against top-10 opponents and 1-18 against the best in the Big Ten, spinning the Lions and their fans through the same laundry cycle every year.

— Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of spinning

Verb

Offensive notes Tommy DeVito settled in nicely after sailing some early throws.

— Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 15 Aug. 2026
That comment followed news that the USS George Washington is now sailing to the Middle East and is expected to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, which has been at sea for some 250 days and not had a port call for more than 200.

— Alexander Smith, NBC news, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of sailing

Verb

The small plane struck the tail of the hovering helicopter, killing the Cessna pilot and sending both aircraft to the ground in pieces.

— ABC News, ABC News, 20 Aug. 2026
The helicopter crew was conducting routine training and was hovering several feet above a grassy area adjacent to a runway when the crash happened.

— Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of hovering

Verb

The Mexican navy searched a vast area of the Pacific Ocean by sea and air, eventually finding the two men floating in a large fishing cooler about 150 miles off the coast of Chiapas, a southern state in Mexico that borders Guatemala.

— Diego Mendoza, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
The Port of Los Angeles forklift driver was wearing a life vest and was floating away, out to sea -- cold, worried about sharks and drowning.

— Michele Gile, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of floating

Verb

In the videos, shot by drone by Joanna Steidle, the creatures can be seen gliding just beneath the water’s surface like hundreds of raviolis floating in aquamarine broth.

— Sanidhya Sharma, Scientific American, 12 Aug. 2026
Video from his dash camera shows the aircraft gliding under a highway sign, missing it by mere feet, before touching down in the empty lanes.

— Aaron Cooper, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of gliding

Verb

If the object is drifting through the field of view from left to right, place it on the far left to keep it in view for as long as possible.

— Jamie Carter, Space.com, 18 Aug. 2026
And Chiles is the most versatile — capable of drifting between edge rusher and a coverage aide.

— Noah White, Miami Herald, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of drifting

Browse Nearby Words

swim

swimming

swimmingly

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Style

“Swimming.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swimming. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of swimming

verb

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