Drown
/draʊn/
Definitions
2 meaningsTo die from being submerged in a liquid and unable to breathe.
/draʊn/
To die by being submerged in a liquid and unable to breathe.
He almost drowned when he fell through the ice.
💡 Simply: Imagine you're playing in the pool and you accidentally go under the water and can't come up to breathe. That's drowning. It's really scary!
👶 For kids: When you go under water and can't breathe, you drown.
More Examples
The dog drowned in the lake.
She was rescued before she could drown.
How It's Used
"The swimmer drowned in the deep water."
"Several people drowned in the recent flood."
To overwhelm or be overwhelmed by something to the point of being unable to function or experience things effectively.
/draʊn/
To overwhelm or cause someone to be unable to experience or express feelings or thoughts.
He was drowning in debt.
💡 Simply: Sometimes, you might feel like you have so much homework or so many things to do that you can't handle it all. It's like you're drowning in it. You feel overwhelmed!
👶 For kids: When something is too much, like too many toys to clean up, it's like drowning in them.
More Examples
She drowned her sorrows in alcohol.
The company was drowning under the weight of regulations.
How It's Used
"She was drowning in paperwork."
"He was drowning in his own sorrow."
Idioms & expressions
drown one's sorrows
To drink alcohol to forget one's troubles.
"After the breakup, he went to the bar to drown his sorrows."
drown out
To make a sound or noise so loud that another sound cannot be heard.
"The music was so loud that it drowned out the conversation."
From Old English *drūsnian*, related to Old Norse *drūna*, meaning 'to sink'.
Historically, the word has been used consistently to describe death by submersion, and figuratively, to describe being overwhelmed.
Memory tip
Think of the 'down' in drown – you go down into the water and can't breathe.