1 to die because you have been underwater too long and you cannot breathe; to kill sb in this way:
[V] Two children drowned after falling into the river. * He had attempted to rescue the drowning man. * [VN] She tried to drown herself. * He was drowned at sea. * They had drowned the unwanted kittens.
2 [VN] ~ sth (in sth) to make sth very wet; to completely cover sth in water or another liquid:
The fruit was drowned in cream.
3 [VN] ~ sb/sth (out) (of a sound) to be louder than other sounds so that you cannot hear them:
She turned up the radio to drown out the noise from next door.
drowning noun [U,C]:
death by drowning * Alcohol plays a part in an estimated 30% of drownings.
IDIOMS
drown your fears / loneliness / sorrows, etc. (especially humorous) to get drunk in order to forget your problems
