SUBMERGE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does submerge mean? 

• SUBMERGE (verb)
  The verb SUBMERGE has 4 senses:

1. sink below the surface; go under or as if under water

2. cover completely or make imperceptible

3. put under water

4. fill or cover completely, usually with water

  Familiarity information: SUBMERGE used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SUBMERGE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they submerge    ... he / she / it submerges   
Past simple: submerged   
Past participle: submerged   
-ing form: submerging   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Sink below the surface; go under or as if under water

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

submerge; submerse

Hypernyms (to "submerge" is one way to...):

go down; go under; settle; sink (go under)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "submerge"):

dive (plunge into water)

drown (be in danger of dying from submersion in a liquid and asphyxiation)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

submergence (sinking until covered completely with water)

submergible (capable of being immersed in water or functioning while submerged)

submerging (sinking until covered completely with water)

submersible (capable of being immersed in water or functioning while submerged)

submersion (sinking until covered completely with water)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Cover completely or make imperceptible

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

drown; overwhelm; submerge

Context example:

The noise drowned out her speech

Hypernyms (to "submerge" is one way to...):

cover; spread over (form a cover over)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Put under water

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

submerge; submerse

Context example:

submerge your head completely

Hypernyms (to "submerge" is one way to...):

immerse; plunge (thrust or throw into)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

submergence (sinking until covered completely with water)

submergible (capable of being immersed in water or functioning while submerged)

submerging (sinking until covered completely with water)

submersible (capable of being immersed in water or functioning while submerged)

submersion (the act of wetting something by submerging it)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Fill or cover completely, usually with water

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

deluge; inundate; submerge

Hypernyms (to "submerge" is one way to...):

flood (cover with liquid, usually water)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

submergence (sinking until covered completely with water)

submergible (capable of being immersed in water or functioning while submerged)

submerging (sinking until covered completely with water)

submersible (capable of being immersed in water or functioning while submerged)

 Context examples 

The research studied how other crops compare to rice when submerged in water.

(Grains in the rain, National Science Foundation)

Earlier this year, Zealandia was confirmed as Earth's seventh continent, but little is known about it because it's submerged more than a kilometer (two-thirds of a mile) under the sea.

(Scientists return from expedition to lost continent of Zealandia, National Science Foundation)

Once more the Ghost bore away before the storm, this time so submerging herself that for some seconds I thought she would never reappear.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

These trees act as chimneys, funnelling the methane produced in the submerged soil into the atmosphere.

(Amazon trees are major source of methane emission, SciDev.Net)

The Earth of 3.2 billion years ago was a "water world" of submerged continents, geologists say, after analyzing oxygen isotope data from ancient ocean crust now exposed on land in Australia.

(Scientists determine early Earth was a ‘water world’ by studying exposed ocean crust, National Science Foundation)

Any submerged feelings will come out like a geyser, shooting skyward at full force.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Researchers say there is a submerged continent in the southwest Pacific Ocean, that should be considered an eighth continent.

(Researchers Argue for Eighth Continent: Zealandia, VOA)

Even now, after this long interval, I find myself thrilling as I think of it, and feeling once more that sudden flood of joy, amazement, and incredulity which utterly submerged my mind.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Sometimes he was all but submerged, swimming through oblivion with a faltering stroke; and again, by some strange alchemy of soul, he would find another shred of will and strike out more strongly.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

In order to generate electricity, the yarns must be either submerged in or coated with an ionically conducting material, or electrolyte, which can be as simple as a mixture of ordinary table salt and water.

(Energy-Harvesting Yarns Generate Electricity, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)