swamp

C2 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈswɑmp/ UK /ˈswɒmp/ See IPA manual

Freq #5836

Meanings

1

noun
a situation fraught with difficulties and imponderables

I was trapped in a medical swamp.
2

verb
drench or submerge or be drenched or submerged

The tsunami swamped every boat in the harbor.
3

noun
An area of wet (water-saturated), spongy (soft) land, often with trees, generally a rich ecosystem for certain plants and animals but ill-suited for many agricultural purposes. (A type of wetland. Compare marsh, bog, fen.)

Some small Marshes and Swamps there are, but more profitable than hurtfull.
4

noun
A place or situation that is foul or where progress is difficult.

We two...in this swamp of iniquity...together we can bring redress to an unjust world.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 verb · drench or submerge or be... drench

Word family

Forms swamps

Derived forms backswampblackswampfever-swampgreenswamppaleoswampswamp-privetswampableswampbillyswampbusterswampbustingswampdragonswamper

Related forms bayou bogbogmirecarrevergladefenlaggmangalmangrove marsh mire moor

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

swamp fever
a traditional name for leptospirosis, an infection that can cause fever and jaundice

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Swamp first appears in the early 17th-century compound swampwater. It probably goes back to a Germanic root carrying senses such as “sponge” and “fungus”; sump, first recorded with the meaning “swamp,” is probably related.

Etymology

Early attestations (starting in 1624) are from North America, but the term was probably in local use in Britain earlier. The etymology is not entirely certain; it is probably a fusion of Middle English swam (“swamp, muddy pool, bog, marsh”, also “fungus, mushroom”) — from Old English swamm (“mushroom, fungus, sponge”), from Proto-West Germanic *swamm, from Proto-Germanic *swambaz, *swammaz — and Middle English sompe (“marsh, morass”), from either Middle Dutch somp, sump (“marsh, swamp”) or Middle Low German sump (“marsh, swamp”) (from Old Saxon *sump (“swamp, marsh”)), both from Proto-West Ger...

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# swamp

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈswɑmp/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈswɒmp/
**Frequency rank:** 5836

## Meanings
1. a situation fraught with difficulties and imponderables
2. drench or submerge or be drenched or submerged
3. An area of wet (water-saturated), spongy (soft) land, often with trees, generally a rich ecosystem for certain plants and animals but ill-suited for many agricultural purposes. (A type of wetland. Compare marsh, bog, fen.)
4. A place or situation that is foul or where progress is difficult.

## Examples
- I was trapped in a medical swamp.
- The tsunami swamped every boat in the harbor.
- Some small Marshes and Swamps there are, but more profitable than hurtfull.
- We two...in this swamp of iniquity...together we can bring redress to an unjust world.

## Derived Forms
- backswamp
- blackswamp
- fever-swamp
- greenswamp
- paleoswamp
- swamp-privet
- swampable
- swampbilly
- swampbuster
- swampbusting
- swampdragon
- swamper

## Related Forms
- bayou
- bog
- bogmire
- carr
- everglade
- fen
- lagg
- mangal
- mangrove
- marsh
- mire
- moor

## Etymology
Early attestations (starting in 1624) are from North America, but the term was probably in local use in Britain earlier. The etymology is not entirely certain; it is probably a fusion of Middle English swam (“swamp, muddy pool, bog, marsh”, also “fungus, mushroom”) — from Old English swamm (“mushroom, fungus, sponge”), from Proto-West Germanic *swamm, from Proto-Germanic *swambaz, *swammaz — and Middle English sompe (“marsh, morass”), from either Middle Dutch somp, sump (“marsh, swamp”) or Middle Low German sump (“marsh, swamp”) (from Old Saxon *sump (“swamp, marsh”)), both from Proto-West Ger...

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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