Synonyms

absorb

American

[ab-sawrb, -zawrb] / æbˈsɔrb, -ˈzɔrb /

verb (used with object)

to suck up or drink in (a liquid); soak up.

A sponge absorbs water.
to swallow up the identity or individuality of; incorporate.

The empire absorbed many small nations.

Synonyms:

destroy, engulf, devour, consume, assimilate
to involve the full attention of; to engross or engage wholly.

so absorbed in a book that he did not hear the bell.
to occupy or fill.

This job absorbs all of my time.
to take up or receive by chemical or molecular action.

Carbonic acid is formed when water absorbs carbon dioxide.
to take in without echo, recoil, or reflection.

to absorb sound and light; to absorb shock.
to take in and utilize.

The market absorbed all the computers we could build. Can your brain absorb all this information?
to pay for (costs, taxes, etc.).

The company will absorb all the research costs.
Archaic. to swallow up.

absorb British

/ əbˈsɔːb, -ˈzɔːb /

verb

to soak or suck up (liquids)
to engage or occupy (the interest, attention, or time) of (someone); engross
to receive or take in (the energy of an impact)
physics to take in (all or part of incident radiated energy) and retain the part that is not reflected or transmitted
to take in or assimilate; incorporate
to accept and find a market for (goods, etc)
to pay for as part of a commercial transaction

the distributor absorbed the cost of transport
chem to cause to undergo a process in which one substance, usually a liquid or gas, permeates into or is dissolved by a liquid or solid Compare adsorb

porous solids absorb water
hydrochloric acid absorbs carbon dioxide

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of absorb

First recorded in 1480–90; from Latin absorbēre, from ab- ab- + sorbēre “to suck in, swallow”

Explanation

To absorb is to take in or suck up like a sponge. If you don't hear your mother calling because you are reading, you could say you were absorbed in the book. If your parents buy groceries for a party you are throwing and don't make you pay, you could say that they decided to absorb the cost of the food. Young minds absorb information easily. The word, absorbent, describes something that is capable of absorbing something else. When you go swimming on a chilly day, it's best to carry an absorbent towel so that all of the water is absorbed from the surface of your skin.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing absorb

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

absorb absorbs absorbed absorbing

They absorb low-energy photons and convert that energy into higher-energy photons, creating a bright optical signal that researchers can measure.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

It started appearing in my parents’ pantry in Costco two-packs, usually beside gigantic cases of bottled water, enough paper towels to absorb a malfunctioning sprinkler system and gallon-sized jugs of olive oil.

From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026

The unemployment rate has drifted down to 4.1% after rising to 4.5% late last year, and hiring has exceeded the pace needed to absorb new workers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

Harmer said: "There is a tendency for retailers to absorb that theft rather than reporting it," and added she wanted to make sure they continued reporting crime.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

Most of it was good-hearted, but it was too much for me to absorb all at once.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

The Mediterranean Sea absorbs heat during summer, increasing evaporation and contributing to heavier rainfall when storms develop.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

They have served as "a buffer that absorbs bad years so that a single drought or a single dry season does not translate directly into a water crisis", she told reporters.

From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026

These include how efficiently it absorbs light, how concentrated it must be, where it is distributed in the atmosphere, and whether it can realistically exist within the observed range of cloud-particle sizes.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026

Use them in the same year and the deduction absorbs conversion income that would otherwise be taxed at your top rate.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

Clay readily absorbs water, expanding as it does.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

“Ultimately,” he said, “the losses must still be absorbed somewhere in the economy through higher taxes, lower returns to households … or some combination of these.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

To make that comparison possible, the researchers combined observations of Venus with a radiative-transfer model that tracks how light is repeatedly scattered and absorbed by cloud droplets and atmospheric molecules.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026

More than 90 percent of excess heat trapped by greenhouse gas emissions has been absorbed by the oceans, sparing land from warming but at severe cost to marine life, reefs and coastal communities.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

Remove some cloud and more sunlight reaches the sea, where much of it is absorbed as heat.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

“He looks weak as a sickly lamb,” I observed, folding and refolding my napkin and pretending to be absorbed in my place setting.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

It was also Iran's third-largest customer, absorbing nearly 12 percent of its exports, worth more than $7 billion, according to the World Trade Organization.

From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026

It means the unknown absorber must either be extremely effective at absorbing light, exist at a very high concentration inside the droplets, or satisfy both conditions.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026

Part of growing as a creative is absorbing more reference materials, especially those outside of your comfort zone.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

An absorbing contest featuring some sensational points saw the Americans fight back again in the decider, only to falter from a commanding lead in the tie-break.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

While the Islamic world was spreading and absorbing new knowledge, enjoying the taste of sugar, Europe had gone the opposite way: isolation.

From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023