imbibe
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to consume (liquids) by drinking; drink.
He imbibed great quantities of iced tea.
- Synonyms:
- swallow
-
to absorb or soak up, as water, light, or heat.
Plants imbibe moisture from the soil.
-
to take or receive into the mind, as knowledge, ideas, or the like.
to imbibe a sermon; to imbibe beautiful scenery.
verb (used without object)
-
to drink, especially alcoholic beverages.
Just a soft drink for me—I don't imbibe.
-
to absorb liquid or moisture.
-
Archaic. to soak or saturate; imbue.
verb
-
to drink (esp alcoholic drinks)
-
literary to take in or assimilate (ideas, facts, etc)
to imbibe the spirit of the Renaissance
-
(tr) to take in as if by drinking
to imbibe fresh air
-
to absorb or cause to absorb liquid or moisture; assimilate or saturate
Synonym Usage
See drink.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
have imbibedperfect
-
has imbibedperfect 3rd person singular
-
am imbibingprogressive 1st person singular
-
are imbibingprogressive
-
has been imbibingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
-
imbibessingular 3rd person
-
is imbibingprogressive 3rd person singular
-
imbibingparticiple
-
have been imbibingperfect progressive
Past
-
had imbibedperfect
-
had been imbibingperfect progressive
-
were imbibingprogressive plural
-
imbibedsimple
-
imbibedparticiple
-
was imbibingprogressive singular
Future
Etymology
Origin of imbibe
1350–1400; < Latin imbibere to drink in, equivalent to im- im- 1 + bibere to drink; replacing Middle English enbiben < Middle French embiber < Latin, as above
Explanation
Imbibe is a fancy word for "drink." If you need to imbibe ten cups of coffee just to get out of the house, you might have a caffeine problem. Although the verb imbibe means to take in liquids of any sort, if you don't specify the liquid, people are likely to infer you mean an alcoholic beverage. You can also use it figuratively. If you have imbibed every detail about every battle of the U.S. Civil War, you must find the subject interesting.
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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.
In his essential book "Imbibe," David Wondrich calls the Sazerac — created in the Crescent City before the turn of the 20th century — "New Orleans' own liquid lagniappe."
From Salon • Feb. 13, 2021
Paul Clarke, executive editor of Imbibe, a must-read bimonthly magazine for the bartending and distilling community.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 26, 2019
Imbibe freely, all you kombucha-swilling health nuts of the 21st century, of the cocktail being served at City Center, where the delirious Encores! concert production of Cole Porter’s “The New Yorkers” runs through Sunday.
From New York Times • Mar. 23, 2017
This one comes to us from the editors of Imbibe magazine, and it often combines the unpretentiousness of See Mix Drink, the swank adventurism of PDT, and the photographic beauty of Bitters.
From Slate • Nov. 3, 2011
A suitable motto for its hospitable portals would have been, "Imbibe new hope, all ye who enter here."
From The Land of Contrasts A Briton's View of His American Kin by Muirhead, James F. (James Fullarton)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
