absorb

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   To include so that it no longer has separate existence

   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.

   • Dark oblivion soon absorbs them all.
   • In some countries, the large cities absorb the wealth and fashion of the nation; they are the only fixed abodes of elegant and intelligent society, and the country is inhabited almost entirely by boorish peasantry.
   • As a microbullet impacts the graphene, the diameter of the cone it creates – determined by later examination of the petals – provides a way to measure how much energy the graphene absorbs before breaking.
2. 2

   To engulf, as in water

   To engulf, as in water; to swallow up.

   • to be absorpt, or swallowed up, in a lake of fire and brimstone.
3. 3

   To suck up

   To suck up; to drink in; to imbibe, like a sponge or as the lacteals of the body; to chemically take in.

4. ›+ 8 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      To be absorbed, or sucked in

      To be absorbed, or sucked in; to sink in.

      • The drops of water slowly absorbed into the dry sponge.
   2. 5

      To take in energy and convert it.

      • Heat, light, and electricity are absorbed in the substances into which they pass.
   3. 6

      To engross or engage wholly

      To engross or engage wholly; to occupy fully.

      • Livonian affairs held him tight, and were to absorb him for many a year.
   4. 7

      To occupy or consume time.

   5. 8

      To assimilate mentally.

      • If we fail to absorb the lessons of history, we are doomed to repeat them.
   6. 9

      To assume or pay for as part of a commercial transaction.

      • Among the most debatable is the contention that the profit margins of small employers are insufficient to absorb the costs of health insurance
   7. 10

      To defray the costs.

      • I’ll absorb the charge for the window replacement.
   8. 11

      To accept or purchase in quantity.

The neighborhood

• synonymbear
• synonympay for
• synonymtake in
• antonymemitantonym(s) of
• neighboradsorb