swamp Hear it!

swamp Definition

swamp (swämp, swômp)

noun

a piece of wet, spongy land that is permanently or periodically covered with water, characterized by growths of shrubs and trees; marsh; bog

Etymology: < dial. var. (or LowG cognate) of ME sompe, akin to MLowG swamp, Goth & OE swamm, fungus, mushroom < IE base *swomb(h)os, spongy, porous > Gr somphos, spongy

adjective

of or native to a swamp

transitive verb

  1. to plunge or sink in a swamp, deep water, etc.
  2. to flood or submerge with or as with water
  3. to overcome or overwhelm; ruin swamped by debts
  4. to sink (a boat) by filling with water
  5. ☆ to make (a path) or clear (an area) by removing underbrush and slash, as in logging

intransitive verb

to become swamped; sink in or as in a swamp

swamp Related Forms
swamp·ish adjective
swamp Synonyms

swamp

n.

bog, fen, quagmire, morass, marsh, slough, soft ground, wet ground, mire, peat bog, holm, swale, bottoms, river bottoms, moor, spongy ground, lowland, bayou, bottomland, cattail swamp, tule swamp, fen land, boggy ground, swampy ground, polder, trembling prairie, Everglades, muskag; see also mud.

Antonyms desert*, high ground, rocky ground.

swamp Usage Examples

Object

  • fen: Reed swamps, fen, semi-natural woodland and scrub on lough shores.
  • cypress: Eight Taxodium distichum, ( swamp cypress ) are part of the earliest plantings.
  • vegetation: Fen, marsh and swamp Vegetation which is permanently, seasonally or periodically waterlogged.
  • fever: He was actively involved in the running of the colony but died of swamp fever later the same year.
  • forest: Late morning went back to the lodge and did the trail from the road through swamp forest to the river.
  • deer: The Terai Arc is a corridor of biodiversity teeming with Asian elephants, swamp deer, and river dolphins galore.

Converse of object

  • drain: They cleared lands, built dams and drained swamps.

Subject

  • wave: Within five years, the industry will be swamped by a wave of cheap imports.

Adjective modifier

  • coastal: A remarkable land of coastal swamps, highland river valleys, even a glacier high in the central mountains.

Modifies a noun

  • stonecrop: Less well-known species such as Australian swamp stonecrop are also significant threats.
  • vegetation: Pools and drains support a variable open water flora and the swamp vegetation is dominated by Common Reed ( Phragmites australis ).
  • forest: When I arrived in December, the rainy season was well under way and the swamp forest and marshes had just become flooded.

Modifying Another Word

  • completely: Left unchecked it will completely swamp the lower slopes.
  • nearly: I went several boating excursions in the neighborhood, and in one was dismasted and nearly swamped.

Noun used with modifier

  • mangrove: The coastal plain is made up of mangrove swamps.
  • papyrus: It is dissected by numerous small rivers with valley grasslands and papyrus swamps.
  • peat: The alluvial plain in the park comprises of lowland alluvial forest, tropical heath forest, peat swamp and riparian forest.

Preposition: with

  • request: Kilgallen was swamped with requests by press agents to plug the activities of their clients.

Preposition: by

  • wave: Within five years, the industry will be swamped by a wave of cheap imports.
  • flood: Melbourne swamped by flash floods Perched on the roofs of their cars, they look out bewildered on a city inundated with flash floods.

Browse dictionary entries near swamp

  1. swami
  2. swam
  3. swallowwort
  4. swallowtail
  5. swallow-tailed coat
  6. swallow-tailed
  7. swallow dive
  8. swallow
  9. swale
  10. SWAK
  1. swamp buggy
  2. swamp fever
  3. swamp gas
  4. swamper
  5. swampland
  6. swampy
  7. swan
  8. swan dive
  9. swan's-down
  10. swan song