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.

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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

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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

But her immersion in Scottish culture taught her that Lerner and Loewe’s original book did not represent Scotland realistically.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 27, 2026

The most profound pleasure of the week was time spent with the dozen other women who had given themselves the gift of a week’s immersion in beauty and creativity.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026

This suggests that immersion in hot water may interfere with lice activity or where they lay their eggs.

From Science Daily • Mar. 3, 2026

In St. Paul, 15 miles southeast of Columbia Heights, Mandi Jung teaches seventh-grade science as part of a local school’s Spanish immersion program.

From Salon • Mar. 2, 2026

"I packed the immersion blender in my suitcase," Ana tells him.

From "We Are Okay" by Nina LaCour