I. swamp 1 /swɒmp $ swɑːmp/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable and countable]
[ Date: 1600-1700 ; Origin: sump 'swamp' (15-20 centuries) ; ⇨ ↑ sump ]
land that is always very wet or covered with a layer of water
—swampy adjective :
the soft, swampy ground
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THESAURUS
▪ marsh an area of low flat ground that is always wet and soft, that often has grasses or ↑ reed s growing in it but no trees:
The low hills you can see are like islands surrounded by the marsh.
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Miles of salt marsh (=which has salt water under it because it is near the sea) stretched before us, reaching to the shores of the River Severn.
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Hackney Marshes
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the rustling of the marsh grass
▪ swamp land that is always very wet or covered with a layer of water, that often has trees growing in it - used especially about areas in hot countries:
the swamps of Florida
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Less than 200 years ago, the city was a swamp, infested by mosquitoes.
▪ bog an area of low wet muddy ground, sometimes with bushes or grasses growing in it:
His foot started slowly sinking into the bog.
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The destruction of peat bogs is contributing to global warming, according to a report commissioned by Friends of the Earth.
▪ wetland an area of land that is partly covered with water, and that has grasses and other plants growing in it – often used about areas that are important to birds or wildlife:
The ecosystem of the world 's largest wetland, the Pantanal in southwest Brazil, is being threatened by tourists.
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wetland birds
▪ fen a large area of low flat wet land - used especially about the area of this type of land in eastern England in Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire, which is known as the Fens :
He grew up in the Fens
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Intensive cultivation and continued drainage of the Fens further accelerates the degradation of the land.
▪ mire literary an area of wet muddy ground, which people and vehicles etc get stuck in:
The wagon was stuck fast in the mire.
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The rain was turning the highway into a mire.
II. swamp 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
1 . [usually in passive] to suddenly give someone a lot of work, problems etc to deal with SYN inundate
be swamped by/with something
We’ve been swamped with phone calls since the advert appeared.
2 . [usually in passive] to go somewhere or surround something in large numbers, especially in a short period of time
be swamped by/with something
In the summer the village is swamped by visitors.
3 . to suddenly cover an area with a lot of water SYN flood :
Huge waves swamped the vessel.