Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Absorb
Ab-sorb′
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Absorbed
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Absorbing
.] [L.
absorbere
; ab
+ sorbere
to suck in, akin to Gr. [GREEK]: cf. F. absorber
.] 1.
To swallow up; to engulf; to overwhelm; to cause to disappear as if by swallowing up; to use up; to include.
“Dark oblivion soon absorbs them all.” Cowper.
The large cities
absorb
the wealth and fashion. W. Irving.
2.
To suck up; to drink in; to imbibe; as a sponge or as the lacteals of the body.
Bacon.
3.
To engross or engage wholly; to occupy fully;
as,
. absorbed
in study or the pursuit of wealth4.
To take up by cohesive, chemical, or any molecular action, as when charcoal absorbs gases. So heat, light, and electricity are absorbed or taken up in the substances into which they pass.
Nichol.
These words agree in one general idea, that of completely taking up. They are chiefly used in a figurative sense and may be distinguished by a reference to their etymology. We speak of a person as absorbed (lit., drawn in, swallowed up) in study or some other employment of the highest interest. We speak of a person as ebgrossed (lit., seized upon in the gross, or wholly) by something which occupies his whole time and thoughts, as the acquisition of wealth, or the attainment of honor. We speak of a person (under a stronger image) as swallowed up and lost in that which completely occupies his thoughts and feelings, as in grief at the death of a friend, or in the multiplied cares of life. We speak of a person as engulfed in that which (like a gulf) takes in all his hopes and interests; as, engulfed in misery, ruin, etc.
That grave question which had begun to
absorb
the Christian mind – the marriage of the clergy. Milman.
Too long hath love
And sunk to softness all our tragic rage.
engrossed
Britannia’s stage,And sunk to softness all our tragic rage.
Tickell.
Should not the sad occasion
My other cares?
swallow up
My other cares?
Addison.
And in destruction's river
Engulf
and swallow those. Sir P. Sidney.
Webster 1828 Edition
Absorb
ABSORB'
,Verb.
T.
1.
To drink in; to suck up; to imbibe; as a spunge, or as the lacteals of the body.2.
To drink in, swallow up, or overwhelm with water, as a body in a whirlpool.3.
To waste wholly or sink in expenses; to exhaust,; as, to absorb an estate in luxury.4.
To engross or engage wholly, as absorbed in study or the pursuit of wealth.Definition 2024
absorb
absorb
English
Verb
absorb (third-person singular simple present absorbs, present participle absorbing, simple past and past participle absorbed or (archaic) absorpt)
- (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.][1]
- (Can we date this quote?) William Cowper:
- Dark oblivion soon absorbs them all.
- (Can we date this quote?) Washington Irving:
- The large cities absorb the wealth and fashion.
- (Can we date this quote?) William Cowper:
- (transitive, obsolete) To engulf, as in water; to swallow up. [Attested from the late 15th century until the late 18th century.][1]
- 1879, Thomas Burnet, The Sacred Theory of the Earth:
- to be absorpt, or swallowed up, in a lake of fire and brimstone.
-
- (transitive) To suck up; to drink in; to imbibe; as a sponge or as the lacteals of the body; to chemically take in. [First attested in the early 17th century.][1]
- (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.
- (transitive, physics) in receiving sound energy without repercussion or echo.
- (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.
- (transitive) To engross or engage wholly; to occupy fully; as, absorbed in study or in the pursuit of wealth. [First attested in the late 18th century.][1]
- (transitive) To occupy or consume time. [First attested in the mid 19th century.][1]
- (transitive) Assimilate mentally. [First attested in the late 19th century.][1]
- (transitive, business) To assume or pay for as part of a commercial transaction.
- (transitive) To defray the costs.
- (transitive) To accept or purchase in quantity.
Conjugation
Conjugation of absorb
| infinitive | (to) absorb | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| present tense | past tense | |||
| 1st person singular | absorb | absorbed | ||
| 2nd person singular | absorb, absorbest1 |
|||
| 3rd person singular | absorbs, absorbeth1 |
|||
| plural | absorb | |||
| subjunctive | absorb | |||
| imperative | absorb | — | ||
| participles | absorbing | absorbed | ||
| 1) Archaic or obsolete. | ||||
Synonyms
- (to include so that it no longer has separate existence): assimilate, engulf, incorporate, swallow up, overwhelm
- (to suck up or drink in): draw, drink in, imbibe, soak up, sop up, suck, suck up, steep, take in, take up
- (to consume completely): use up
- (to occupy fully): engage, engross, immerse, monopolize, occupy
- (finance: to assume or pay for): assume, bear, pay for
to take in
Antonyms
- (physics: to take up by chemical or physical action): emit
Derived terms
Derived terms
Translations
to include so that it no longer has separate existence
|
|
to suck up or drink in
|
|
to learn
|
to occupy fully
|
to consume completely
|
|
to endure
physics: to take up by chemical or physical action
|
|
finance: to assume or pay for
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Brown, Lesley, editor (1933) The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-860575-7, published 2003, page 9