submerse

/səbˈmʌrs/

Other forms: submersed; submersing

To submerse is to go below the surface of water. When you watch a seabird submerse, you see it dive completely under water, probably so that it can catch a fish.

You can use the verb submerse in much the same way you'd use submerge, to mean "sink or dive under the surface of the water." The meaning of submerse makes sense when you know that a submersible is a small underwater vessel, similar to a submarine. All of these words have the Latin prefix sub- in common, which means "under." Merse comes from the Latin verb "to plunge," mergere .

Definitions of submerse

1. verb

   put under water
   synonyms: submerge

   type of:

   immerse, plunge

   thrust or throw into
2. verb

   sink below the surface; go under or as if under water
   synonyms: submerge

   types:

   dive

   plunge into water

   belly-flop

   dive so that one hits the water with one's belly

   jackknife

   dive into the water bending the body at the waist at a right angle, like a jackknife

   type of:

   go down, go under, settle, sink

   go under, "The raft sank and its occupants drowned"