swamp

1 of 2

noun

ˈswämp How to pronounce swamp (audio)
ˈswȯmp
1
: a wetland often partially or intermittently covered with water
especially : one dominated by woody vegetation
2
: a tract of swamp
3
: a difficult or troublesome situation or subject
swamp adjective

swamp

2 of 2

verb

swamped; swamping; swamps

transitive verb

1
a
: to fill with or as if with water : inundate, submerge
b
: to overwhelm numerically or by an excess of something : flood
swamped with work
2
: to open by removing underbrush and debris

intransitive verb

: to become submerged

Examples of swamp in a Sentence

Noun Alligators live in the lowland swamps. be careful in the swamp, because alligators sometimes lurk there Verb The sea level rose and swamped the coastal villages. The boat sank after it was swamped by waves.
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Noun
Enea turned to nature for a solution, planting 38 swamp cypresses (Taxodium distichum), each capable of extracting up to 800 liters of water per day. Nel-Olivia Waga, Forbes, 10 Mar. 2025 Herbs are good, if they’re allowed to flower, as are flowers like anise hyssop, purple coneflower and swamp milkweed. Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY, 8 Mar. 2025
Verb
Today, fast fashion in the U.S. has been swamped with competition from Chinese e-commerce companies such as Temu and Shein, which produce and sell items for pennies. Samantha Gowen, Orange County Register, 5 Mar. 2025 On Tuesday, Trump swamped Harris in the unincorporated areas – home to nearly half of the county’s voters in the 2024 election – with 59% of the vote to the vice president’s 41%. Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 26 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for swamp

Word History

Etymology

Noun

perhaps alteration of Middle English sompe, from Middle Dutch somp morass; akin to Middle High German sumpf marsh, Greek somphos spongy

First Known Use

Noun

1624, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1784, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of swamp was in 1624

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Swamp.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/swamp. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

swamp

1 of 2 noun
ˈswämp How to pronounce swamp (audio)
ˈswȯmp
: wet spongy land often partly covered with water

swamp

2 of 2 verb
1
: to fill or become filled with or as if with water
2
: overwhelm sense 2
was swamped with work

More from Merriam-Webster on swamp

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!