Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Sink

Sink

(sĭṉk)
,
Verb.
I.
[
imp.
Sunk
(sŭṉk)
, or (
Sank
(săṉk)
);
p. p.
Sunk
(
obs.
Sunken
, – now used as
adj.
);
p. pr. & vb. n.
Sinking
.]
[OE.
sinken
, AS.
sincan
; akin to D.
zinken
, OS.
sincan
, G.
sinken
, Icel.
sökkva
, Dan.
synke
, Sw.
sjunka
, Goth.
siggan
, and probably to E.
silt
. Cf.
Silt
.]
1.
To fall by, or as by, the force of gravity; to descend lower and lower; to decline gradually; to subside;
as, a stone
sinks
in water; waves rise and
sink
; the sun
sinks
in the west
.
I
sink
in deep mire.
Ps. lxix. 2.
2.
To enter deeply; to fall or retire beneath or below the surface; to penetrate.
The stone
sunk
into his forehead.
1 San. xvii. 49.
3.
Hence, to enter so as to make an abiding impression; to enter completely.
Let these sayings
sink
down into your ears.
Luke ix. 44.
4.
To be overwhelmed or depressed; to fall slowly, as so the ground, from weakness or from an overburden; to fail in strength; to decline; to decay; to decrease.
I think our country
sinks
beneath the yoke.
Shakespeare
He
sunk
down in his chariot.
2 Kings ix. 24.
Let not the fire
sink
or slacken.
Mortimer.
5.
To decrease in volume, as a river; to subside; to become diminished in volume or in apparent height.
The Alps and Pyreneans
sink
before him.
Addison.
Syn. – To fall; subside; drop; droop; lower; decline; decay; decrease; lessen.

Sink

(sĭṉk)
,
Verb.
T.
1.
To cause to sink; to put under water; to immerse or submerge in a fluid;
as, to
sink
a ship
.
[The Athenians] fell upon the wings and
sank
a single ship.
Jowett (Thucyd.).
2.
Figuratively: To cause to decline; to depress; to degrade; hence, to ruin irretrievably; to destroy, as by drowping;
as, to
sink
one’s reputation
.
I raise of
sink
, imprison or set free.
Prior.
If I have a conscience, let it
sink
me.
Shakespeare
Thy cruel and unnatural lust of power
Has
sunk
thy father more than all his years.
Rowe.
3.
To make (a depression) by digging, delving, or cutting, etc.;
as, to
sink
a pit or a well; to
sink
a die.
4.
To bring low; to reduce in quantity; to waste.
You
sunk
the river repeated draughts.
Addison.
5.
To conseal and appropriate.
[Slang]
If sent with ready money to buy anything, and you happen to be out of pocket,
sink
the money, and take up the goods on account.
Swift.
6.
To keep out of sight; to suppress; to ignore.
A courtly willingness to
sink
obnoxious truths.
Robertson.
7.
To reduce or extinguish by payment;
as, to
sink
the national debt
.

Sink

(sĭṉk)
,
Noun.
1.
A drain to carry off filthy water; a jakes.
2.
A shallow box or vessel of wood, stone, iron, or other material, connected with a drain, and used for receiving filthy water, etc., as in a kitchen.
3.
A hole or low place in land or rock, where waters sink and are lost; – called also
sink hole
.
[U. S.]
Sink hole
.
(a)
The opening to a sink drain
.
(b)
A cesspool
.
(c)
Same as
Sink
,
Noun.
, 3.

Webster 1828 Edition

Sink

SINK

,
Verb.
I.
pret. sunk; pp. id. The old pret. sank is nearly obsolete.
1.
To fall by the force of greater gravity, in a medium or substance of less specific gravity; to subside; opposed to swim or float. Some species of wood or timber will sink in water. Oil will not sink in water and many other liquids, for it is specifically lighter. I sink in deep mire. Ps. 69.
2.
To fall gradually. He sunk down in his chariot, II Kings 9.
3.
To enter or penetrate into any body. The stone sunk into his forehead. I Sam. 17.
4.
To fall; to become lower; to subside or settle to a level. The Alps and Pyrenees sink before him.
5.
To be overwhelmed or depressed. Our country sinks beneath the yoke.
6.
To enter deeply; to be impressed. Let these sayings sink down into your ears. Luke 9.
7.
To become deep; to retire or fall within the surface of any thing; as, the eyes sink into the head.
8.
To fall; to decline; to decay; to decrease. A free state gradually sinks into ruin. It is the duty of government to revive a sinking commerce. Let not the fire sink or slacken.
9.
To fall into rest or indolence; as, to sink away in pleasing dreams.
10.
To be lower; to fall; as, the price of land will sink in time of peace.

SINK

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To put under water; to immerse in a fluid; as, to sink a ship.
2.
To make by digging or delving; as, to sink a pit or a well.
3.
To depress; to degrade. His vices sink him in infamy, or in public estimation.
4.
To plunge into destruction. If I have a conscience, let it sink me.
5.
To cause to fall or to be plunged.
6.
To bring low; to reduce in quantity. You sunk the river with repeated draughts.
7.
To depress; to overbear; to crush. This would sink the spirit of a hero.
8.
To diminish; to lower or lessen; to degrade. I mean not that we should sink our figure out of covetousness.
9.
To cause to decline or fail. Thy cruel and unnat'ral lust of power has sunk thy father more than all his years.
10.
To suppress; to conceal; to intervert. If sent with ready money to buy any thing, and you happen to be out of pocket, sink the money, and take up the goods on account. [Unusual.]
11.
To depress to lower in value or amount. Great importations may sink the price of goods.
12.
To reduce; to pay; to diminish or annihilate by payment; as, to sink the nation debt.
13.
To waste; to dissipate; as, to sink an estate.

SINK

,
Noun.
1.
A drain to carry off filthy water; a jakes.
2.
A kind of bason of stone or wood to receive filthy water.

Definition 2024

sink

sink

English

Verb

sink ‎(third-person singular simple present sinks, present participle sinking, simple past sank, past participle sunk or sunken)

  1. (heading, physical) To move or be moved into something.
    1. (ergative) To descend or submerge (or to cause to do so) into a liquid or similar substance.
      A stone sinks in water.  The sun gradually sank in the west.‎
    2. (transitive) To cause a vessel to sink, generally by making it no longer watertight.
    3. (transitive) To push (something) into something.
      The joint will hold tighter if you sink a wood **** through both boards.  The dog sank its teeth into the delivery man's leg.‎
    4. (transitive, snooker, pool, billiards, golf) To pot; hit a ball into a pocket or hole.
      • 2008, Edward Keating, The Joy of Ex: A Novel
        My sister beats me at pool in public a second time. I claim some dignity back by potting two of my balls before Tammy sinks the black.
  2. (heading, social) To diminish or be diminished.
    1. (intransitive, figuratively, of the human heart) To experience apprehension, disappointment, dread, or momentary depression.
      • 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, Ch.21:
        I tried, but I could not wake him. This caused me a great fear, and I looked around terrified. Then indeed, my heart sank within me. Beside the bed, as if he had stepped out of the mist, or rather as if the mist had turned into his figure, for it had entirely disappeared, stood a tall, thin man, all in black.
      • 1915, Thornton W. Burgess, The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel, Little, Brown, and Company, Boston; ch. XIX:
        Peter's heart sank. "Don't you think it is dreadful?" he asked.
    2. (transitive, figuratively) To cause to decline; to depress or degrade.
      to sink one's reputation‎
      • William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
        If I have a conscience, let it sink me.
      • Nicholas Rowe (1674-1718)
        Thy cruel and unnatural lust of power / Has sunk thy father more than all his years.
    3. (intransitive) To demean or lower oneself; to do something below one's status, standards, or morals.
      • 2013, Steve Henschel, Niagara This Week, April 24:
        Who would sink so low as to steal change from veterans?
  3. (transitive, slang, archaic) To conceal and appropriate.
    • Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)
      If sent with ready money to buy anything, and you happen to be out of pocket, sink the money, and take up the goods on account.
  4. (transitive, slang, archaic) To keep out of sight; to suppress; to ignore.
  5. (transitive, slang, archaic) To reduce or extinguish by payment.
    to sink the national debt‎
  6. (intransitive) To be overwhelmed or depressed; to fail in strength.
    • (Can we date this quote?) William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
      I think our country sinks beneath the yoke.
    • (Can we date this quote?) John Mortimer (1656?-1736)
      Let not the fire sink or slacken.
  7. (intransitive) To decrease in volume, as a river; to subside; to become diminished in volume or in apparent height.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Joseph Addison (1672-1719)
      The Alps and Pyreneans sink before him.
    • 1879, Richard Jefferies, The Amateur Poacher, chapter1:
      It was not far from the house; but the ground sank into a depression there, and the ridge of it behind shut out everything except just the roof of the tallest hayrick. As one sat on the sward behind the elm, with the back turned on the rick and nothing in front but the tall elms and the oaks in the other hedge, it was quite easy to fancy it the verge of the prairie with the backwoods close by.

Usage notes

  • Use of the old plural past tense form sunk instead of sank is not uncommon, but is considered non-standard.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

a bathroom sink (basin for holding water)

sink ‎(plural sinks)

  1. A basin used for holding water for washing
  2. A drain for carrying off wastewater
  3. (geology) A sinkhole
  4. A depression in land where water collects, with no visible outlet
  5. A heat sink
  6. A place that absorbs resources or energy
  7. (baseball) The motion of a sinker pitch
    Jones' has a two-seamer with heavy sink.
  8. (computing, programming) An object or callback that captures events; event sink
  9. (graph theory) a destination vertex in a transportation network

Synonyms

Antonyms

  • (destination vertex): source

Derived terms

Translations

Related terms

Anagrams

Afrikaans

Chemical element
Zn Previous: koper (Cu)
Next: gallium (Ga)

Noun

sink ‎(uncountable)

  1. zinc

Estonian

Noun

sink ‎(genitive singi, partitive sinki)

  1. ham

Declension

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Faroese

Chemical element
Zn Previous: kopar (Cu)
Next: gallium (Ga)

Etymology

From German Zink.

Noun

sink n (genitive singular sinks, uncountable)

  1. (metal) zinc

Declension

n3s Singular
Indefinite Definite
Nominative sink sinkið
Accusative sink sinkið
Dative sinki sinkinum
Genitive sinks sinksins

Derived terms

  • sinksalva

Icelandic

Noun

sink

  1. zinc (element)


This Icelandic entry was created from the translations listed at zinc. It may be less reliable than other entries, and may be missing parts of speech or additional senses. Please also see sink in the Icelandic Wiktionary. This notice will be removed when the entry is checked. (more information) December 2008

Anagrams

Mauritian Creole

Numeral

sink

  1. Alternative spelling of senk

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

sink m, n ‎(definite singular sinken or sinket) (uncountable)

  1. zinc (chemical element, symbol Zn)

Derived terms

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

sink m, n ‎(definite singular sinken or sinket) (uncountable)

  1. zinc (as above)

Novial

Novial cardinal numbers
 <  4 5 6  > 
    Cardinal : sink
    Ordinal : sinkesmi

Numeral

sink

  1. (cardinal) five


West Frisian

Verb

sink

  1. first-person singular present of sinke
  2. imperative of sinke

Etymology

From Old English sincan, from Proto-Germanic *sinkwaną, from Proto-Indo-European *sengʷ- ‎(“to fall, sink”). Compare West Frisian sinke, Low German sinken, Dutch zinken, German sinken, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål synke, Swedish sjunka.

Pronunciation

Similar Results