English
absorb
Pronunciation
  • (RP) IPA: /əbˈzɔːb/, /əbˈsɔːb/
  • (America) IPA: /æbˈsɔɹb/, /æbˈzɔɹb/, /əbˈsɔɹb/, /əbˈzɔɹb/
Verb

absorb (absorbs, present participle absorbing; past and past participle absorbed)

  1. (transitive) To include so that it no longer has separate existence; to overwhelm; to cause to disappear as if by swallowing up; to incorporate; to assimilate; to take in and use up. [First attested around 1350 to 1470.]
    • William Cowper:
      Dark oblivion soon absorbs them all.
    • Washington Irving:
      The large cities absorb the wealth and fashion.
  2. (transitive, obsolete) To engulf, as in water; to swallow up. [Attested from the late 15th century until the late 18th century.]
  3. (transitive) To suck up; to drink in; to imbibe, like a sponge or as the lacteals of the body; to chemically take in. [First attested in the early 17th century.]
  4. (transitive, physics, chemistry) To take in energy and convert it, as[First attested in the early 18th century.]
    1. (transitive, physics) in receiving a physical impact or vibration without recoil.
    2. (transitive, physics) in receiving sound energy without repercussion or echo.
    3. (transitive, physics) taking in radiant energy and converting it to a different form of energy, like heat.
    Heat, light, and electricity are absorbed in the substances into which they pass.
  5. (transitive) To engross or engage wholly; to occupy fully[First attested in the late 18th century.]
    • 1904, Kazimierz Waliszewski, translated by Lady Mary Loyd, Ivan the Terrible Part 2 Chapter 3
      Livonian affairs held him tight, and were to absorb him for many a year.
  6. (transitive) To occupy or consume time. [First attested in the mid 19th century.]
  7. (transitive) Assimilate mentally. [First attested in the late 19th century.]
  8. (transitive, business) To assume or pay for as part of a commercial transaction.
  9. (transitive) To defray the costs.
  10. (transitive) To accept or purchase in quantity.
Conjugation


Conjugation of absorb

infinitive (to) absorb
present tense past tense
1st-person singular absorbabsorbed
2nd-person singular* absorb, absorbest*absorbed, absorbedst*
3rd-person singularabsorbs, absorbeth* absorbed#English|absorbed
plural absorb
subjunctive absorb
imperative absorb —
participle> participlesabsorbingabsorbed
* Archaic or obsolete.

Synonyms Antonyms
  • (physics: to take up by chemical or physical action) emit
Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations

This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.011
Offline English dictionary