swamp
/swɒmp/ IELTSAcademic
noun
A swamp is a wet area of land with water and many plants. Trees and muddy ground are common there.
- We crossed the swamp carefully.
- Mosquitoes breed in the swamp.
verb
If water or problems swamp something, there is too much of it. It can also mean to cover or overwhelm something completely.
- Heavy rain swamped the road.
- Emails swamped my inbox.
Adinary Nuance
Swamp is stronger and wetter than marsh, and it usually suggests muddy ground with dense plants. It is also less formal than wetland, which is a broader environmental term. When used as a verb, swamp means to overwhelm or flood, not just to cover a little.
In other languages
- Vietnamese
- đầm lầy
- Spanish
- pantano
- Chinese
- 沼泽
- Japanese
- 沼地
- Korean
- 늪
Etymology
Swamp comes from Old English and related Germanic words meaning wet ground or marshy land. The verb use developed later from the idea of being covered by water or flooded with too much material.
Common phrases
a swamp ofswampy groundswamp the inboxswamped with work
Synonyms
Related words
Frequently asked questions
- Is swamp the same as marsh?
- They are similar, but swamp is usually muddier and has more trees.
- Is swamp a formal word?
- It is a common everyday word. In science, wetland is more formal.