drown

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   die from being submerged in water, getting water into the lungs, and asphyxiating

   The child drowned in the lake

2. 2
   verb

   get rid of as if by submerging

   They drowned their troubles in alcohol.

3. 3
   verb

   kill by submerging in water

   They tried to down me during the interrogation.

4. 4
   verb

   cover completely or make imperceptible

   I was drowned in work

5. 5
   verb

   To die from suffocation while immersed in water or other fluid.

   When I was a baby, I nearly drowned in the bathtub.

6. 6
   verb

   To kill by suffocating in water or another liquid.

   The car thief fought with an officer and tried to drown a police dog before being shot while escaping.

7. 7
   verb

   To be flooded: to be inundated with or submerged in (literally) water or (figuratively) other things; to be overwhelmed.

   We are drowning in information but starving for wisdom.

8. 8
   verb

   To inundate, submerge, overwhelm.

   He drowns his sorrows in buckets of chocolate ice cream.

Etymology

From Middle English drownen, drounen, drunen (“to drown”), of obscure and uncertain origin. The OED suggests an unattested Old English form *drūnian. Harper 2001 points to Old English druncnian, ġedruncnian (> Middle English drunknen, dronknen (“to drown”)), "probably influenced" by Old Norse drukkna (cf. Icelandic drukkna, Danish drukne (“to drown”)). Funk & Wagnall's has 'of uncertain origin'. It has been theorised (see e.g. ODS) that it may represent a direct loan of Old Norse drukkna, but this is described by the OED as being "on phonetic and other grounds [...] highly improbable", unless…