Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1200-1300
Origin: Probably from a Scandinavian language

drown

 verb
     
Related topics: Colours and Sounds, Death, Water
drown
1 [intransitive and transitive]MXTTW to die from being under water for too long, or to kill someone in this way:
Many people drowned when the boat overturned.
Jane was drowned in the river.
drown yourself
Depressed, Peter tried to drown himself.
2 also drown out [transitive]C if a loud noise drowns out another sound, it prevents it from being heard:
A train blew its whistle and drowned his voice.
The noise of the battle was drowned out by his aircraft's engine.
3 [transitive] to cover something, especially food, with more liquid than is necessary or nice
drown something in something
The fish was drowned in a rich sauce.
4 [intransitive and transitive] to have a very strong feeling or a serious problem that is difficult to deal with
drown in
Relief agencies are drowning in frustration.
The country is drowning in debt.
5

drown your sorrows

DFD to drink a lot of alcohol in order to forget your problems
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

Browse the dictionary