swamp

noun \ ˈswämp , ˈswȯmp \

Updated on: 7 Dec 2017

Definition of swamp

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

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swamp

adjective

See swamp defined for English-language learners

See swamp defined for kids

Examples of swamp in a Sentence

Alligators live in the lowland swamps.
be careful in the swamp, because alligators sometimes lurk there

Recent Examples of swamp from the Web

As the De Havilland Otter flew over the mosaic of lakes, swamps, islands and ridges, Smith tapped me on the shoulder.

— paul a. smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Smith: Quebec caribou provide hunt of a lifetime for Wisconsin hunters," 7 Oct. 2017
In this excerpt, from the November 2017 issue, Thoreau describes his special love of swamps.

— henry david thoreau, The Atlantic, "The Swamp Lover," 6 Oct. 2017
Wheeler is not just the figurative embodiment of the swamp, but the literal embodiment of it.

— emily atkin, New Republic, "Trump’s “drain the swamp” pledge has drowned.," 5 Oct. 2017
The travel ban was done to disrupt a failing system and to drain the swamp.

— adam ciralsky, The Hive, "Is Trump Mulling Peter Thiel for a Top Intelligence Advisory Post?," 22 Sep. 2017
And since Trump’s inauguration, the swamp of financial conflicts has only gotten worse.

— vanityfair.com, "Trump’s Ethical Nightmare Is Only Getting Worse," 18 Sep. 2017
In the past week, the Spurs have struggled with their shot in the swamps of central Florida.

— jeff mcdonald, San Antonio Express-News, "Spurs know the answers they need to end losing streak," 31 Oct. 2017
So Forbes making noise about some three point something billion is fake news and therefore Forbes is on the drain-the-swamp list.

— jack moore, GQ, "Forbes Received a Very Strange Phone Call After Donald Trump Dropped 92 Spots On Its Rich People List," 18 Oct. 2017
And Axios co-founder Mike Allen relays his take on the tomfoolery bewitching the swamp.

— jon kelly, vanityfair.com, "Will O.J. Simpson Really Get Rich?," 27 Oct. 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of swamp

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1624

See Words from the same year

swamp Synonyms

Synonyms

bog, fen, marsh, marshland, mire, moor, morass, muskeg, slough (also slew or slue), swampland, wash, wetland

Related Words

swale; quagmire; guck (or gook), muck, mud, ooze, slime, slop, sludge, slush

Other Ecology Terms

Malthusian, anthropogenic, biomass, carbon footprint, crepuscular, niche, sere, symbiosis, taiga, tundra

swamp

verb

Definition of swamp

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

See swamp defined for English-language learners

Examples of swamp in a Sentence

The sea level rose and swamped the coastal villages.
The boat sank after it was swamped by waves.

Recent Examples of swamp from the Web

Kelly’s voice grew thin at points during an extraordinary and emotional briefing called as questions about Trump’s handling of the Niger deaths and other military losses swamped the White House this week.

— anne gearan, Washington Post, "John Kelly, Trump’s chief of staff whose son died in combat, defends president’s call to Gold Star widow," 19 Oct. 2017
Communities along Georgia’s coast were swamped by storm surge and rainfall arriving at high tide Monday afternoon.

— russ bynum, The Seattle Times, "Weakened Irma leaves 3 dead in Georgia, 1 in South Carolina," 12 Sep. 2017
Houston officials said the city was preparing for significant effects from the hurricane, mostly in the form of heavy rains that could swamp the city.

— russell gold, WSJ, "Hurricane Harvey Slams Into Texas With Devastating Force," 26 Aug. 2017
Changing the equation The federal program was created to fill a void left after the Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927, when multiple levees failed, swamping an area larger than West Virginia and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless.

— the new york times, NOLA.com, "Thousands hit by storms rely on wobbly flood insurance," 5 Nov. 2017
County officials are seeking federal money to pay for the study as part of an effort to try to find ways to prevent the extensive flooding that swamped hundreds of homes and businesses when Hurricane Harvey hit the area.

— john s. marshall, Houston Chronicle, "Woodlands board hears presentation from Noack on watershed study," 26 Oct. 2017
Facing deadlines at the end of the month to avoid a government shutdown and an unprecedented default on the nation’s debt, lawmakers also have to confront whopping damage estimates from the storm that swamped Houston.

— kevin whitelaw, Bloomberg.com, "Balance of Power: 30 Days That'll Set Course for a Presidency," 5 Sep. 2017
In the best case, that life-saving equipment became useless when the power went out; in the worst, their delicate electronics were swamped with muddy water.

— sue anne bell, Fortune, "Harvey Is Keeping Kidney Failure Patients From Getting Dialysis Treatment," 1 Sep. 2017
Jon Roitman, United’s senior vice president of airport operations, said of the 2012 superstorm that swamped the Northeast from New Jersey to Connecticut.

— susan carey, WSJ, "United Continental Planning Houston Flight Resumption," 30 Aug. 2017

First Known Use of swamp

1784

swamp Synonyms

Synonyms

deluge, drown, engulf, gulf, inundate, overflow, overwhelm, submerge, submerse, flood

Antonyms

drain

Related Words

avalanche, smother; overcome, overrun; flow, flush, gush, pour, sluice, spout, spurt, stream; douse (also dowse), drench, soak, wet

Near Antonyms

dehydrate, dry, parch

SWAMP Defined for English Language Learners

swamp

noun

Definition of swamp for English Language Learners

: land that is always wet and often partly covered with water

swamp

verb

Definition of swamp for English Language Learners

: to cover (something) with water
: to cause (someone or something) to have to deal with a very large amount of things or people at the same time

SWAMP Defined for Kids

swamp

noun \ ˈswämp \

Definition of swamp for Students

: wet spongy land often partly covered with water

swamp

verb

Definition of swamp for Students

swamped; swamping

1 : to fill or cause to fill with water : sink after filling with water

High waves swamped the boat.

The boat swamped.

2 : overwhelm 1

She was swamped with work.

Learn More about swamp

See words that rhyme with swamp Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for swamp Spanish Central: Translation of swamp Nglish: Translation of swamp for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of swamp for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about swamp

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Other Ecology Terms

swamp

Definition of swamp

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swamp Synonyms

Synonyms

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SWAMP Defined for English Language Learners

swamp

Definition of swamp for English Language Learners

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Definition of swamp for English Language Learners

SWAMP Defined for Kids

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