# Sink / drown



## ADMP

Can you please tell me the difference between *sink *and *drown*?
If somwbody goes under water while swiming in the sea, which word can we use in this context?

Jimmy don't go *too *far you will* sink*
Jimmy don't go *so *fat you will *get drowned / drowned*
What I ment by drown was just go under water and not died. In that case can we use drown?


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## InsultComicDog

Jimmy, don't go out so far. You will drown.


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## InsultComicDog

A ship can sink. Only a person (or an animal) can drown.


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## ADMP

InsultComicDog said:


> A ship can sink. Only a person (or an animal) can drown.


 
What I ment by drown was just go under water and not died. In that case can we use drown?
And why can't we say you *will get drowned*


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## Trapezium

Drowning = dying.

I think what you're looking for is "don't go out of your depth".


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## InsultComicDog

In the sense of the undertow pulling you under?


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## ADMP

InsultComicDog said:


> A ship can sink. *Only a person (or an animal) can drown*.


 
Can we use drown if the person just go under water.

Jimmy don't go far you'll drown ( _not dying and just go under water_)


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## Trapezium

ADMP said:


> Can we use drown if the person just go under water.
> Jimmy don't go far you'll drown ( _not dying and just go under water_)



No.  If you drown, you die.


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## liliput

_To drown_ is to die by inhaling water into the lungs. This is not the word you are looking for.
_To sink_ is to fall beneath the surface of the water. Although more commonly used for objects such as boats or stones, *there is no problem whatsoever with using "sink" for a person.*
I agree with Trapezium that in the context you suggest the best phrase is "Don't go out of your depth".
Alternatively;
"Don't go out so far, you might go under."


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## Teafrog

To *drown* = to die (main usage) > you die by asphyxiation
To *sink* is for an object (most of the time) going under the water (and, usually, implies it stays there)
To *go under* = for a person or object to be immersed (in water). This implies you will, eventually, come back up. I suspect that is your answer.

You can also say, poetically, that you "drown in grief" > you are overcome with grief, "drown a field" > you flood a field (irrigation), "drown your sorrow" with drink > you drink a lot to forget your problems, you voice was "drowned out" by the music > the music was louder than you (and you couln't be heard).

Is that what you meant to know by your question?


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## InsultComicDog

liliput said:


> "Don't go out so far, you might go under."



I think this is what the original poster is looking for. Or "you might be pulled under."


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## ADMP

Teafrog said:


> To *drown* = to die (main usage) > you die by asphyxiation
> To *sink* is for an object (most of the time) going under the water (and, usually, implies it stays there)
> To *go under* = for a person or object to be immersed (in water). This implies you will, eventually, come back up. I suspect that is your answer.
> 
> You can also say, poetically, that you "drown in grief" > you are overcome with grief, "drown a field" > you flood a field (irrigation), "drown your sorrow" with drink > you drink a lot to forget your problems, you voice was "drowned out" by the music > the music was louder than you (and you couln't be heard).
> 
> Is that what you meant to know by your Q?


Yes I got it and many thanks to all.


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## Roymalika

A teacher of mine has told me that we cannot use "sink" for people or other living things. Only "drown" can be used. We should use "sink" for non-living things.

Sentence:
He fell into the river and drowned/ sank.
A ship named The Titanic sank/ drownedin the water in 1919.


May I ask whether the tecaher is right?


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## lingobingo

Yes.


InsultComicDog said:


> A ship can sink. Only a person (or an animal) can drown.


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## Roxxxannne

A person can sink or drown (or both): A person can sink beneath the surface of a body of water if they are having trouble swimming, but they can be pulled out before they drown.

But a non-living thing like the _Titanic_ can only sink, not drown.


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## sdgraham

Note that while only living things can _literally_ drown, we (at least in AE) sometimes use it metaphorically, e.g.
drown one's sorrows​
Drink liquor to escape one's unhappiness. For example, After the divorce, she took to drowning her sorrows at the local bar. The notion of drowning in drink dates from the late 1300s.
Definition of drown one's sorrows | Dictionary.com.
Cheers.


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## suzi br

I think humans can sink sometimes, especially in crime novels when weighted with something.  It's not the usual thing but you might meet it in certain contexts.


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## elroy

Roymalika said:


> A teacher of mine has told me that we cannot use "sink" for people or other living things. Only "drown" can be used. We should use "sink" for non-living things.


It depends.  In what meaning?  If you mean (of a person) die from submersion below water, then yes, I would only use "drown" for that.

< Quote of deleted post removed. Cagey, moderator >


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## Roymalika

elroy said:


> It depends. In what meaning? If you mean (of a person) die from submersion below water, then yes, I would only use "drown" for that.


Suppose a person fell out of a boat and went into water. He didn't know how to swim, but luckily he didn't die. Other people in the boat immediately dived into the water and saved him.
Can I say he "sank" into the water?


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## lingobingo

No. He fell into the water.


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## Roymalika

lingobingo said:


> No. He fell into the water.


Do you think it is impossible to use *sink* for people or other living things? Suppose he fell into the water and remained in the water for ten to fifteen minutes, bit didn't die. Would you still not use "sink"?


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## suzi br

Roymalika said:


> Do you think it is impossible to use *sink* for people or other living things? Suppose he fell into the water and remained in the water for ten to fifteen minutes, bit didn't die. Would you still not use "sink"?


No - he didn't sink, because sink needs submersion, actually under the water level. If he is still alive he must have had his head out of water most of the time in order to breath. 

You seem to have missed my post at #17


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## elroy

Humans can definitely sink metaphorically:

_I sank into my cushy armchair after a long, hard day at work._


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## JulianStuart

Sink refers to direction of motion (downwards) in the water - and can happen to anything, including a person.  Drown refers to whether you live or die.  Totally separate words and concepts.  If someone drowns, we don't use the word sink to inform someone else they died.


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## Roymalika

JulianStuart said:


> Sink refers to direction of motion (downwards) in the water - and can happen to anything, including a person.


May I ask how you think this can happen to a person? What situation do you have in mind, please?


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## Graciela J

suzi br said:


> If he is still alive he must have had his head out of water most of the time in order to breath.



Sorry, have you heard about "artificial respiration"?

*artificial respiration *n

any of various methods of restarting breathing after it has stopped, by manual rhythmic pressure on the chest, mouth-to-mouth breathing, etc.

_Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers_

The person could have sunk in the water (for example in a swimming pool), and been rescued and given? artificial respiration.


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## JulianStuart

Roymalika said:


> May I ask how you think this can happen to a person? What situation do you have in mind, please?


Not really a language question, I think   A scuba diver carrying weights to counteract his buoyancy.  If he carries them, he sinks, if he lets go, he will rise.


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## Roymalika

JulianStuart said:


> Not really a language question, I think   A scuba diver carrying weights to counteract his buoyancy.  If he carries them, he sinks, if he lets go, he will rise.


Thanks a lot,
I have one more question please. Does the word 'sink' mean *motion* or *state* (of being submerged)?


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## elroy

It describes a motion.  to sink = to go down


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## JulianStuart

Roymalika said:


> Thanks a lot,
> I have one more question please. Does the word 'sink' mean *motion* or *state* (of being submerged)?





JulianStuart said:


> *Sink refers *to direction of *motion* (downwards) in the water.



It describes a motion, so you can probably answer that yourself   Once something has sunk, it stops moving.


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## Roymalika

Roxxxannne said:


> A person can sink or drown (or both): A person can sink beneath the surface of a body of water if they are having trouble swimming, but they can be pulled out before they drown.
> 
> But a non-living thing like the _Titanic_ can only sink, not drown.


Is it possible for a human to drown without sinking? If yes can you please explain how?


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## Roxxxannne

Yes.  "Drown" is defined in #9.  
This is a question about physiology and the necessity of oxygen for survival rather than grammar and the meaning of words.

Theoretically, a person could be unconscious and lying face down while floating, rather than sinking.  (People with a lot of body fat float easily compared to people who don't have much body fat.) If they inhale water into their lungs and their lungs fill with water instead of oxygen, they will die. 
The crucial factor is that your mouth has to be below the surface and you have to be unable to breathe air when you need to.


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## JulianStuart

Roymalika said:


> Is it possible for a human to drown without sinking? If yes can you please explain how?


Unconscious, face down, with nose and mouth in a shallow pool of water, where most of the body is not in the water.   Or when someone holds your face underwater (in a bathtub or sink etc) so you breathe water into your lungs and die.


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## Roymalika

JulianStuart said:


> Unconscious, face down, with nose and mouth in a shallow pool of water, where most of the body is not in the water.


Drowning implies _dying_, but the person you've described here has not died; he is just unconscious. How can we call it "drowning"?


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## Wordy McWordface

Roymalika said:


> Drowning implies _dying_, but the person you've described here has not died; he is just unconscious. How can we call it "drowning"?


The unconscious person will only be alive  for a very short time. If they do not regain consciousness within a few minutes of being face down in water, they will certainly die by drowning.


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## Roxxxannne

Roymalika said:


> Drowning implies _dying_, but the person you've described here has not died; he is just unconscious. How can we call it "drowning"?


The person JulianStuart described is in a position in which they _will _drown.  
You asked "Is it possible for a human to drown without sinking?" 
and the answer was "[Yes, it is possible for a person to drown if they are] Unconscious, face down, with nose and mouth in a shallow pool of water, where most of the body is not in the water."


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## JulianStuart

Roymalika said:


> Drowning implies _dying_, but the person you've described here has not died; he is just unconscious. How can we call it "drowning"?


Unconscious is how the person starts out but we use logic in interpreting language so we know they wll not be unconscious for long    Then they drown/die but they did not sink.


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## abluter

You can say "He sunk in my estimation", meaning "I thought less well of him", and "He was sunk in thought", meaning he was thinking very deeply, and not able to concentrate on much else.


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## lingobingo

*Sink* means descend/go down, especially in a liquid. 
*Drown* means to be completely overcome or overrun, primarily by water or another liquid. 

Both words are also widely used figuratively.


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## Roymalika

Roxxxannne said:


> The person JulianStuart described is in a position in which they _will _drown.
> You asked "Is it possible for a human to drown without sinking?"
> and the answer was "[Yes, it is possible for a person to drown if they are] Unconscious, face down, with nose and mouth in a shallow pool of water, where most of the body is not in the water."


Thanks,
Let's take a situation. A person fell into a river. After two or three days, he was found by a rescue team. There were expert divers in the rescue team. They found the person. Luckily the person was alive. The water had gone into his body, but he was safe; the divers removed water from his body by punching on his chest and the belly.
Was the person "drowned"? I think no, because he didn't die. Right?

(This might not be a possible situation, but this can happen.)


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## JulianStuart

Roymalika said:


> Thanks,
> 
> Was the person "drowned"? I think no, because he didn't die. Right?


Yes.  Drown MEANS die (in a particular way), if he didn't die, he didn't drown.


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## Myridon

Drowning is the process of dying. Someone who is terminally ill is dying but they are not dead. They can be saved by medical intervention.  Someone who is drowning is not drowned.  They can also still be saved.

Drowning takes less than five minutes. What was the man doing for the other two days and why did he happen to start drowning just minutes before the rescuers arrived?


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## LVRBC

To get around the situation where people are resuscitated, we have the medical term near-drowning.  However, as Myrmidon has pointed out, two minutes would be plausible, while two days is not. 
Let's avoid quibbles and return to the original definitions. To sink, used literally, means to descend, usually in water but there are other possibilities.  People can do this, especially with the aid of weights.  To drown is to die by inhaling fluid, usually water.  One way that this occurs without sinking is when very small children, whose heads are proportionately heavier compared to body weight than those of adults, lean into then topple into a five gallon bucket.  Since objects don't breathe, they cannot drown.
But your teacher was incorrect in saying that people cannot sink.  They can.


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## Αγγελος

lingobingo said:


> *Sink* means descend/go down, especially in a liquid.
> *Drown* means to be completely overcome or overrun, primarily by water or another liquid.
> 
> Both words are also widely used figuratively.


To me 'drown' means 'die'. Of course, somebody who has fallen into the water may cry "Help! I'm drowning!" and _not _die, if he is rescued; but then we will not say that 'he drowned', only that he was 'in danger of drowning'. Similarly, we may say of somebody who had a heart attack and was successfully resuscitated that he 'was dying', but not that he died!


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## lingobingo

Αγγελος said:


> To me 'drown' means 'die'.


Yes, it does mean that, for people and animals. But it can also be used in relation to things, which can’t “die”. You omitted to add my comment about figurative uses.


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## Parisicaine

Just another bit of information on drowning: 
Drowning means to die by inhaling water (or another liquid). You don't have to be submerged in the water to drown. You just have to inhale it. You can literally drown in a teacup, if you inhale the liquid that's in the cup. If you die by any other means and then you're tossed in a lake, you don't drown, because you're already dead and you can't inhale. But you'll likely sink.


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## Roymalika

Parisicaine said:


> You can literally drown in a teacup, if you inhale the liquid that's in the cup.


Sorry, I don't understand this example. Could you please explain how a person can drown (die) by "inhaling" liquid in the cup? What do you mean by "inhaling" here?


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## JulianStuart

Roymalika said:


> Sorry, I don't understand this example. Could you please explain how a person can drown (die) by "inhaling" liquid in the cup? What do you mean by "inhaling" here?


Breathing "normally" is when you inhale air through your nose and mouth = using your muscles to get air into your lungs.  It's the same but using water.  Fill a washbasin with water, put your head in it so your mouth and nose are underwater.  What happens when you try to inhale?


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## icecreamsoldier

Roymalika said:


> Sorry, I don't understand this example. Could you please explain how a person can drown (die) by "inhaling" liquid in the cup? What do you mean by "inhaling" here?


It takes a surprisingly small amount of liquid in a person's lungs to cause them to stop functioning properly, leading to drowning. A teacup is probably too little, but as others have said above, the idea is that drowning doesn't require submersion. Many children die every year from drowning in shallow water such as a baby bath or paddling pool, *when they inhale (breathe in) the water*.


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