free

The team won the 200 meters free relay.

(swimming, informal) Abbreviation of freestyle.


lane

From Middle English lane, lone, from Old English lanu (“a lane, alley, avenue”), from Proto-West Germanic *lanu, from Proto-Germanic *lanō (“lane, passageway”).
Cognate with Scots lone (“cattle-track, by-road”), West Frisian leane, loane (“a walkway, avenue”), Dutch laan (“alley, avenue”), German Low German Lane, Laan (“lane”), Swedish lån (“covered walkway encircling a house”), Icelandic lön (“a row of houses”).

cog

a swimming lane

(swimming) A similar division of a swimming pool using lines of coloured floats to keep swimmers apart.


fly

From Middle English flye, flie, from Old English flȳġe, flēoge (“a fly”), from Proto-Germanic *fleugǭ (“a fly”), from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (“to fly”). Cognate with Scots flee, Saterland Frisian Fljooge, Dutch vlieg, German Low German Fleeg, German Fliege, Danish flue, Norwegian Bokmål flue, Norwegian Nynorsk fluge, Swedish fluga, Icelandic fluga.

you attract more flies with honey than vinegar

you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar

you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar

you catch more flies with honey than vinegar

you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar

(swimming) The butterfly stroke (plural is normally flys).


back

front

antonym(s) of “side opposite the front or useful side”

front

antonym(s) of “that which is farthest away from the front”

From Middle English bak, from Old English bæc, from Proto-West Germanic *bak, from Proto-Germanic *baką, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- (“to bend”). The adverb represents an aphetic form of aback.
Compare Middle Low German bak (“back”), from Old Saxon bak, and West Frisian bekling (“chair back”), Old High German bah, Swedish and Norwegian bak. Cognate with German Bache (“sow [adult female hog]”).

agter

break one's arm patting oneself on the back

could be written on the back of a postage stamp

could fit on the back of a postage stamp

you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours


butterfly

From Middle English buterflie, butturflye, boterflye, from Old English buterflēoge, equivalent to butter + fly. Cognate with Dutch botervlieg, German Butterfliege (“butterfly”). The name may have originally been applied to butterflies of a yellowish color, or reflected a belief that butterflies ate milk and butter (compare German Molkendieb (“butterfly”, literally “whey-thief”) and Low German Botterlicker (“butterfly”, literally “butter-licker”)), or that they excreted a butter-like substance (compare Dutch boterschijte (“butterfly”, literally “butter-shitter”)). Compare also German Schmetterling from Schmetten (“cream”), German Low German Bottervögel (“butterfly”, literally “butter-fowl”). More at butter, fly.
An alternate theory suggests that the first element may have originally been Old English butor- (“beater”), a mutation of bēatan (“to beat”), but this would not explain the cognates in other languages or the other names formed with milk products.
Superseded non-native Middle English papilion (“butterfly”) borrowed from Old French papillon (“butterfly”).


stroke

The noun is derived from Middle English strok, stroke (“blow from a weapon, cut”), from Old English strāc, from Proto-West Germanic *straik, from Proto-Germanic *straikaz (“stroke”), from Proto-Indo-European *streyg- (“to rub, stroke; to shear; to strike”).
Sense 3.6.2.2 (“the oblique, slash, or virgule (‘/’)”) is a contraction of oblique stroke, a variant of oblique which was originally used in telegraphy.
The verb is derived from the noun.
Cognates
* German Streich (“stroke”)
* Middle Low German strēk (“stroke, trick, prank”)
* Scots strak, strake, straik (“blow, stroke”)

isku

one of a series of beats or movements against a resisting medium, by means of which movement through or upon it is accomplished

ход

single movement or thrust of a part (such as a piston) of a machine that moves back and forth; length of this movement

butterfly stroke

Old Applegate, in the stern, just set and looked at me, and Lord James, amidship, waved both arms and kept hollering for help. I took a couple of everlasting big strokes and managed to grab hold of the skiff's rail, close to the stern.

1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC, pages 165–166:

One of a series of beats or movements against a resisting medium, by means of which movement through or upon it is accomplished.

(swimming) A movement of the arms and legs which propels a swimmer through the water; a specific combination of such movements, constituting a swimming style.

загребване

specific combination of movements of the arms and legs which, when repeated, causes the swimmer to advance through the water; manner in which such movements are made

-sim n (as a suffix in compounds for swimming styles)


stroke

en-verb

stroke (third-person singular simple present strokes, present participle stroking, simple past and past participle stroked)

strokes (present singular third-person)
stroking (participle present)
stroked (participle past)
stroked (past)

(swimming) To strike (the water) with one's arms and legs when swimming.

(swimming) To swim by making co-ordinated movements with the arms and legs.


breast

breasts (plural)
brest (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English brest, from Old English brēost, from Proto-West Germanic *breust, from Proto-Germanic *breustą, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrews- (“to swell”). Compare West Frisian boarst, Danish bryst, Swedish bröst; cf. also Dutch borst, German Brust.

der

hope springs eternal in the human breast


IM

en-noun

IM (countable and uncountable, plural IMs)

"When I first joined ACAC (Ames Cyclones Aquatics Club), we were swimming together in a lane and I ended up going behind her," Hala said. "We were doing IM (individual medley) in warm-up and I was on her feet and I was like I'm an IMer, can I go ahead of you? She told me no."

2021 August 11, Joe Randleman, “Magnificent Meghan: Donald ready to defend state swimming titles for Ames High”, in Ames Tribune:

individual medley
individual medley#English

(swimming) Initialism of individual medley.


lap

From Middle English lappen (“to fold, wrap”) from earlier wlappen (“to fold, wrap”), from Old English *wlappan, *wlæppan, *wlappian (“to wrap”), from Proto-Germanic *wlapp-, *wrapp- (“to wrap, fold, roll up, turn”), from Proto-Indo-European *werb- (“to bend, turn”).
Cognate with Middle Dutch lappen (“to wrap up, embrace”), dialectal Danish vravle (“to wind”), Old Italian goluppare (“to wrap, fold up”) (from Germanic). Doublet of wrap. Also related to envelop, develop.
The sense of "to get a lap ahead (of someone) on a track" is from 1847, on notion of "overlapping." The noun meaning "a turn around a track" (1861) is from this sense.

cog

to swim two laps

(swimming) The traversal of one length of the pool, or (less commonly) one length and back again.

塘

swimming: the traversal of one length of the pool


freestyle

en-noun

freestyle (countable and uncountable, plural freestyles)

freestyles (plural)
free-style (alternative)

自由式

(sports) A sports event where competitors can choose their own method of participation.

(swimming) A swimming event in which the contestants may choose any stroke.

(swimming, by extension) The swimming stroke commonly referred to as the front crawl or the Australian crawl.


medley

From Middle English medle, from Anglo-Norman medlee, Old French medlee, from the feminine past participle of early Medieval Latin misculō (“to mix”). Compare meddle. Doublet of melee.

(swimming) A competitive swimming event that combines the four strokes of butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle.


upsweep

(swimming) The upward motion of a swimmer's arm.


armband

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-armband.wav

(swimming) One of a pair of inflatable plastic bands, normally worn on the upper arms, to help the wearer (often a child) float in water and learn to swim.

braçalet flotador

one of a pair of inflatable plastic bands to help the wearer float in water and learn to swim


backstroke

(swimming) A stroke swum lying on one's back, while rotating both arms through the water as to propel the swimmer backwards.


scratch

en-verb

scratch (third-person singular simple present scratches, present participle scratching, simple past and past participle scratched)

scratches (present singular third-person)
scratching (participle present)
scratched (participle past)
scratched (past)

From Middle English scracchen, of uncertain origin. Probably a blend of Middle English scratten (“to scratch”) and cracchen (“to scratch”). More at scrat and cratch.

scratch a liberal and you'll find a fascist

Kerley, 26, is the 2019 World bronze medalist at 400 meters, a distance he is known for and with which he also won the 2017 and 2019 U.S. titles, but surprised the track world by announcing one week ago that he scratched the 400m and would focus on the 100m and 200m in Eugene, Oregon, despite not having raced the 100m between 2015 and 2020.

2021 June 21, Brandon Penny, NBC Sports:

Hurtis-Houairi, in lane three, quickly caught Arron, who was in lane four, winning in 22.80. Arron, who scratched the 100m semis in order to focus on the longer sprint, could only run 23.44.

2008 July 26, P-J Vazel, World Athletics:

(swimming, athletics) To announce one's non-participation in a race or sports event part of a larger sports meeting that one was previously signed up for, usually in lieu of another event at the same meeting.


scissor kick

(swimming) A leg movement in which the legs are separated and brought together with a snap.


synchronized swimmer

en-noun

synchronized swimmer (plural synchronized swimmers)

synchronized swimming
synchronized swimming

(swimming) Someone who practices synchronized swimming.

Synchronschwimmer

someone who practices synchronized swimming


breaststroker

(swimming) A person swimming using the breaststroke.


trudgen

Named for John Trudgen (1852-1902), an English swimmer who popularised the stroke.

(swimming) A swimming stroke in which the left and right hands are alternately raised out of the water, brought forward and drawn back through the water. A scissor kick is performed on every second stroke.


trudgen

en-verb

trudgen (third-person singular simple present trudgens, present participle trudgening, simple past and past participle trudgened)

trudgens (present singular third-person)
trudgening (participle present)
trudgened (participle past)
trudgened (past)


splash-and-dash

splash-and-dashes (plural)
splash and dash (alternative)
splash-dash (alternative)

(swimming) A fifty-metre freestyle swimming event.


floaty

From float (noun) + -y (suffix forming diminutive nouns).

suffix

As an escaped megalodon swims close to a busy beach, we see humanity at its most chompable: chubby kids in floaties, doofuses on pontoons, some dork in a tight Speedo rolling around in one of those big inflatable Zorb balls. But alas, the movie is a gore-free PG-13, and though CGI has long since replaced animatronics as the monster movie's weapon of choice, one thing hasn’t changed: giant killer fish still look like they’re made of rubber.

2018 August 8, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, “Jason Statham fighting a giant shark should be a lot more fun than The Meg”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2023-12-26:

(swimming) Chiefly in the plural: synonym of armband (“one of a pair of inflatable plastic bands, normally worn on the upper arms, to help the wearer (often a child) float in water and learn to swim”)


flutter kick

Everybody crowded around very excitedly and talked about the Australian crawl, a stroke I cannot do because there is something wrong with my flutter kick.

1946, George Johnston, Skyscrapers in the Mist, page 48:

(swimming) A kick technique in which the swimmer kicks the legs alternately up and down for propulsion.


IMer

"Jipping had himself a meet," Scheerhorn said. "He used to be an IMer and backstroker. This season, we knew we needed someone else in the 200 free and seeing that five-second drop in prelims was incredible. He swam lights out."

2022 February 25, Dan D'Addona, “Zeeland swims to OK Rainbow Conference title”, in The Holland Sentinel:

(swimming) A swimmer who competes in the individual medley race.


water wing

water wings (plural)
waterwing (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-water wing.wav

From water + wing. Compare German Schwimmflügel (“water wing”, literally “swim-wing”).

noncog

(swimming) Synonym of armband (“one of a pair of inflatable plastic bands, normally worn on the upper arms, to help the wearer (often a child) float in water and learn to swim”)


Trudgen stroke

(swimming) Synonym of trudgen (“type of swimming stroke”)


butterflier

(swimming) Someone who competes in butterfly swimming.


tumble turn

(swimming) A turn used to reverse the direction in which the person is swimming.


swim-off

swim-offs (plural)
swimoff (alternative)
swim off (alternative)

If the disqualifications leave a vacancy for the full complement of finalists, swim-offs shall be continued among the disqualified swimmers until a full complement of finalists is assured.

1973, Aquatics Guide, with Official Rules and Swimming and Diving Standards:

The swim-off would be open to any athlete who hadn't competed in the official 200 free. Since the swim-off would be the last event at the Trials, the upshot allowed Mark to enter it without affecting any of his other races.

2008, Richard J Foster, Mark Spitz: The Extraordinary Life of an Olympic Champion, →ISBN, page 48:

They came up with a compromise where he could compete in a special swim-off two months later.

2012, Dan Stephenson, The Underwater Window, →ISBN:

(swimming) A special swimming race in which the winner gets to compete in the next level of trials (typically the finals), where the competitors have not qualified for the next level by the usual elimination races.


dolphin kick

(swimming) An underwater swimming stroke, where both legs are held together and undulated, like a mermaid's tail, to propel the swimmer


butterfly kick

(swimming) The kicking motion associated with the butterfly stroke.


upkick

The general position of the feet is that heels and rear part of the toes just break the surface of the water on the upkick and drive to the position of about 45 cms underneath.

2002, Kishin R. Wadhwaney, The Story of Swimming:


downsweep

(swimming) The downward motion of a swimmer's arm.


dead man's float

en-noun

dead man's float (plural dead man's floats)

(swimming) A floating position in which the swimmer lies face down on the water with the arms extended forward and the legs behind them.


outsweep

(swimming) The motion of a swimmer's arm outward, away from the body.


insweep

(swimming) The motion of a swimmer's arm inward, towards the body.


armfloat

armfloats (plural)
arm-float (alternative)
arm float (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-armfloat.wav

At that moment I realised just how alike Dad and BRAD were, and an image splashed into my mind of the two of them, armfloats strapped to their arms and goggles on their foreheads, […]


individual medley

individual medley (countable and uncountable, plural individual medleys)

Coordinate term: medley relay

(swimming) A medley swimming race consisting of a single competitor swimming equal distances of four different strokes.


fullsuit

fullsuits (plural)
full suit (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-fullsuit.wav

Coordinate term: shorty

(swimming) A type of wetsuit that covers the entire body apart from the head, hands, and feet.