verb
drown
DROWN/draʊn/
To overwhelm by submersion in water.
Even strong swimmers can drown when river currents overpower them.
Etymology
Middle English drounen already referred to fatal immersion. It probably belongs to the family of “drink,” whose Old English verb could also mean “engulf”—a connection with water swallowing someone up.
In context
… if the water come to him and drown him, he drowns not himself: argal, …
More examples
- The child nearly drowned before a lifeguard reached her.
- She pulls the drowning man onto the boat.
- The rising floodwaters drowned several cattle.
Forms
drown · drowns · drowned · drowning