drown

To drown means to die because you cannot breathe after going under water or another liquid. It can also mean to cause someone or something to die this way, or to cover something with so much water that it is badly affected. A swimmer caught in a rip current might drown if they panic and cannot get back to shore. Heavy rain can drown a field, and too much water can drown a plant's roots. The word is also often used in a figurative way. You can drown in paperwork, debt, or sorrow when it feels like too much to handle, and a loud sound can drown out a quiet voice.

The most literal meaning of "drown" is to die because you cannot breathe while under water or another liquid. For example: "The sailor tragically drowned during the storm." It is a stark and painful image, often tied to danger, panic, and the force of nature.

But "drown" is not only about a person dying in water. It can also be used as a transitive verb, meaning to cause death by holding someone or something under water or another liquid. It can mean to flood something so badly that it cannot live or work properly, as when rain drowns crops or a rising river drowns a road. This wider physical sense is an important part of how the word is used.

The word also extends beyond physical water. It can describe being overwhelmed by emotion, work, or problems. Someone may feel drowned in grief, paperwork, or debt when the pressure seems impossible to escape. In the same way, one sound can drown out another, as when a passing plane drowns out a conversation. There is also the common expression "drown your sorrows," which means trying to push away sadness, often by drinking alcohol.

In both literal and figurative use, the word carries the same core idea: something takes over so completely that breath, movement, or clear thought seems to disappear. Whether it describes a tragic accident, a flooded field, a plant ruined by too much water, or a person buried in worry, "drown" suggests being overcome by more than can be managed.