immersion

American  

[ih-mur-zhuhn, -shuhn] / ɪˈmɜr ʒən, -ʃən /

noun

1. an act or instance of immersing.

2. state of being immersed.

3. state of being deeply engaged or involved; absorption.

4. baptism in which the whole body of the person is submerged in the water.

5. Also called ingress.  Astronomy. the entrance of a heavenly body into an eclipse by another body, an occultation, or a transit.

---

adjective

1. concentrating on one course of instruction, subject, or project to the exclusion of all others for several days or weeks; intensive.

   an immersion course in conversational French.

immersion British  

/ ɪˈmɜːʃən /

noun

1. a form of baptism in which part or the whole of a person's body is submerged in the water

2. Also: ingress.  astronomy the disappearance of a celestial body prior to an eclipse or occultation

3. the act of immersing or state of being immersed

---

Other Word Forms

• nonimmersion
  noun

Etymology

Origin of immersion

1425–75; late Middle English < Late Latin immersiōn- (stem of immersiō ) a dipping in. See immerse, -ion

Explanation

Immersion is the act of dipping something in a substance, completely covering it. It might be something physical, such as plunging your body into water, or metaphorical, such as becoming totally immersed in a project. The Latin background of immersion includes the root mergere, "to plunge." The idea of immersion as a physical submergence came first and the idea of something being absorbed in a situation came about later. The idea behind immersion is that of complete coverage, whether that be by water, as in Baptism, or by attention, as in "immersion learning," an idea for learning a language trademarked in 1965 by the Berlitz company.

Example Sentences

Lee also is chairman of a company, BitMine Immersion Technologies, that buys Ethereum.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 8, 2026

Her investment firm ARK Invest recently purchased shares in a number of crypto-adjacent firms, including Coinbase, BitMine Immersion Technologies and Circle Internet Group.

From Barron's • Dec. 19, 2025

BitMine Immersion Technologies, an ether-treasury company backed by Peter Thiel and run by veteran Wall Street strategist Tom Lee, is down 35%.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 19, 2025

As he approached Rayito de Sol Spanish Immersion Early Learning Center, which is located in a shopping plaza, he noticed two unfamiliar cars out front.

From Salon • Nov. 14, 2025

“Supernatural Immersion class usually ends with us asking questions. So here I am. I’ll answer anything you guys ask.”

From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston