What is swimming?
Swimming is to propel your body through water using your arms and legs. There are many different types of strokes such as breaststroke, backstroke, and butterfly stroke. For a competition, swimming can be a race, diving or even a synchronised group routine.
swimming idioms and expressions list
Many idioms and expressions originated from swimming and here is a list of them with picture examples. Watch the videos to hear these swimming idioms in action, then scroll through the full list with meanings and examples below. It’s a fun way to build your vocabulary and pick up some useful expressions for everyday English.
dive in
meaning – start doing something enthusiastically
example – Dinner is on the table, dive in before it’s all gone.
get along swimmingly
meaning – be friendly / get on very well with another person
example – Don’t worry about the kids, they’re getting along swimmingly.
in deep water
meaning – in difficulty/trouble
example – I’ve been summoned to the school. Lilly is in deep water.
jump in feet first
meaning – do something quickly without hesitating or panicking
example – Starting a new school is scary, jump in feet first and you’ll be fine.
jump in with both feet
meaning – start doing something enthusiastically
example – Louis is a great addition to the team, he jumped in with both feet.
keep one’s head above water
meaning – survive in difficult times, especially concerning money
example – The first part of the year was difficult, now we’re keeping our heads above water.
nosedive
meaning – rapidly begin to fail/decrease
example – Our profits have nosedived in the last quarter. We’re in trouble.
out of one’s depth
meaning – not have enough knowledge
example – Wendy has started a job at a top law firm. I think she’s out of her depth.
sink or swim
meaning – fail or succeed
example – I finally kicked my son out as his behaviour was terrible. It’s sink or swim now.
swim against the tide
meaning – not follow what everyone else is doing
example – We can’t swim against the tide; we need to give the consumers what they want.
test the water
meaning – try and find out people’s reaction before deciding to do something
example – A fund-raising day might be an option. I’ll test the water before arranging anything.
throw in at the deep end
meaning – make someone do something difficult without preparing them for it
example – I’ve never baked, and I’ve got to make a wedding cake. I’m being thrown in at the deep end.
You can download a table of swimming idioms and expressions below.
If you’ve enjoyed this page, don’t forget to check out some more sports idioms by clicking on the links below.