When someone drowns or is drowned, they die because they have gone or been pushed under water and cannot breathe.

If you say that a person or thing is drowning in something, you are emphasizing that they have a very large amount of it, or are completely covered in it.

If something drowns a sound, it is so loud that you cannot hear that sound properly.

If you say that someone is drowning their sorrows, you mean that they are drinking alcohol in order to forget something sad or upsetting that has happened to them.