sink
Americanverb (used without object)
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sinks,
present (3rd person singular)
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sunk,
past participle, past
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sank,
past
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sinking
present participle
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to displace part of the volume of a supporting substance or object and become totally or partially submerged or enveloped; fall or descend into or below the surface or to the bottom (often followed by in orinto ).
The battleship sank within two hours. His foot sank in the mud. Her head sinks into the pillows.
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to fall, drop, or descend gradually to a lower level.
The river sank two feet during the dry spell.
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to settle or fall gradually, as a heavy structure.
The tower is slowly sinking.
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to fall or collapse slowly from weakness, fatigue, distress, etc..
He gasped and sank to his knees.
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to slope downward; dip.
The field sinks toward the highway.
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to go down toward or below the horizon.
the sun sinks in the west.
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to penetrate, permeate, or seep (usually followed by in orinto ).
Wipe the oil off before it sinks into the wood.
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to become engulfed or absorbed in or gradually to enter a state (usually followed by in orinto ).
to sink into slumber.
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to be or become deeply absorbed or involved in a mood or mental state (usually followed by in orinto ).
sunk in thought. She sank into despair.
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to pass or fall into some lower state, as of fortune, estimation, etc.; degenerate.
to sink into poverty.
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to decline or deteriorate in quality or worth.
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to fail in physical strength or health.
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to decrease in amount, extent, intensity, etc..
The temperature sank to 30° at noon.
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to become lower in volume, tone, or pitch.
Her voice sank to a whisper.
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to enter or permeate the mind; become known or understood (usually followed by in orinto ).
He said it four times before the words really sank in.
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to become concave; become hollow, as the cheeks.
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to drop or fall gradually into a lower position.
He sank down on the bench.
verb (used with object)
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sinks,
present (3rd person singular)
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sunk,
past participle, past
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sank,
past
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sinking
present participle
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to cause to become submerged or enveloped; force into or below the surface; cause to plunge in or down.
The submarine sank the battleship. He sank his fist into the pillow.
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to cause to fall, drop, or descend gradually.
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to cause to penetrate.
to sink an ax into a tree trunk.
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to lower or depress the level of.
They sank the roadway by five feet.
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to bury, plant, or lay (a pipe, conduit, etc.) into or as if into the ground.
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to dig, bore, or excavate (a hole, shaft, well, etc.).
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to bring to a worse or lower state or status.
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to bring to utter ruin or collapse.
Drinking and gambling sank him completely.
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to reduce in amount, extent, intensity, etc.
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to lower in volume, tone, or pitch.
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to suppress; ignore; omit.
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to invest in the hope of making a profit or gaining some other return.
He sank all his efforts into the business.
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to lose (money) in an unfortunate investment, enterprise, etc.
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Sports.
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to throw, shoot, hit, or propel (a ball) so that it goes through or into the basket, hole, pocket, etc..
She sank the 10 ball into the side pocket.
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to execute (a stroke or throw) so that the ball goes through or into the basket, hole, pocket, etc..
to sink a putt; to sink a free throw.
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noun
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sinks
plural
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a basin or receptacle, as in a kitchen or laundry, usually connected with a water supply and drainage system, for washing dishes, clothing, etc.
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a low-lying, poorly drained area where waters collect and sink into the ground or evaporate.
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a place of vice or corruption.
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a drain or sewer.
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a device or place for disposing of energy within a system, as a power-consuming device in an electrical circuit or a condenser in a steam engine.
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any pond or pit for sewage or waste, as a cesspool or a pool for industrial wastes.
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any natural process by which contaminants are removed from the atmosphere.
idioms
verb
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to descend or cause to descend, esp beneath the surface of a liquid or soft substance
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(intr) to appear to move down towards or descend below the horizon
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(intr) to slope downwards; dip
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(intr; often foll by in or into) to pass into or gradually enter a specified lower state or condition
to sink into apathy
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to make or become lower in volume, pitch, etc
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to make or become lower in value, price, etc
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(intr) to become weaker in health, strength, etc
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to decline or cause to decline in moral value, worth, etc
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(intr) to seep or penetrate
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(tr) to suppress or conceal
he sank his worries in drink
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(tr) to dig, cut, drill, bore, or excavate (a hole, shaft, etc)
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(tr) to drive into the ground
to sink a stake
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(tr; usually foll by in or into)
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to invest (money)
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to lose (money) in an unwise or unfortunate investment
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(tr) to pay (a debt)
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(intr) to become hollow; cave in
his cheeks had sunk during his illness
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(tr) to hit, throw, or propel (a ball) into a hole, basket, pocket, etc
he sank a 15-foot putt
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informal (tr) to drink, esp quickly
he sank three pints in half an hour
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to take risks where the alternatives are loss and failure or security and success
noun
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a fixed basin, esp in a kitchen, made of stone, earthenware, metal, etc, used for washing
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See sinkhole
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another word for cesspool
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a place of vice or corruption
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an area of ground below that of the surrounding land, where water collects
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physics a device or part of a system at which energy is removed from the system
a heat sink
adjective
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A part of the physical environment, or more generally any physical system, that absorbs some form of matter or energy. For example, a forest acts as a sink for carbon dioxide because it absorbs more of the gas in photosynthesis than it releases in respiration. Coral reefs are a long-lasting sink for carbon, which they sequester in their skeletons in the form of calcium carbonate.
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Geology
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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half-sinkingadjective
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nonsinkableadjective
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self-sinkingadjective
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sinkableadjective
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sinklikeadjective
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unsinkableadjective
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unsinkingadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sinksimple
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sinkssimple
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have sunkperfect
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has sunkperfect
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am sinkingprogressive
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are sinkingprogressive
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is sinkingprogressive
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have been sinkingperfect progressive
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has been sinkingperfect progressive
Past
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sanksimple
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sunksimple
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had sunkperfect
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was sinkingprogressive
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were sinkingprogressive
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had been sinkingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sink
First recorded before 1000; (verb) Middle English sinken, Old English sincan; cognate with Dutch zinken, German sinken, Old Norse sǫkkva, Gothic singkwan; (noun) late Middle English: “cesspool,” derivative of the verb
Explanation
When things sink, they settle or drop to a lower level. If your kayak has a leak, it might fill with water and sink to the bottom of the lake. Things can sink, like a toy octopus descending to the bottom of the bathtub or the sun appearing to sink below the horizon. You can also deliberately sink something, as when you capsize your friend's remote controlled speedboat on purpose. When sink is a noun, it's the water basin in your kitchen or bathroom. The Old English root of both kinds of sink is sincan, "become submerged or go under," from a Germanic source.
Vocabulary lists containing sink
How Low Can You Go? Synonyms for "Downward"
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Units 2–3
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Going Down: Synonyms for "Fall"
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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:
In London, the 17-year-old Eric wrote in his diary that he wanted to dive into Marxism “like into the sea, and sink into it.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Anymore Chambati, who had been a security official on the vessel, told AFP he had tried to hand out life jackets as the boat began to sink.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
Well-tended vines sink deep roots, and the heat stress "is actually good for them, making them go deeper, and put out more grapes," explained Luck.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
“There are so few books for guys that are literary. There’s a lot of John Grisham and Jack Reacher, but there’s not something literary that a guy can sink his teeth into,” Jeselnik says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
She left the cups in the sink and wiped her hands on a cloth.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Volkswagen Group increasingly has to defend its home turf at the same time as its business in China sinks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Fortunately, a second portable toilet area deeper inside the venue had working sinks and held up well throughout the show.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
After they die, a portion of that carbon sinks to the seafloor, where it can remain stored for long periods, helping transfer carbon from the surface ocean into long term storage.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026
If the water in the high North Atlantic becomes too light, less of it sinks.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
She looks at me and her face sinks.
From "Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish" by Pablo Cartaya
The company also fell short of Wall Street expectations for revenue, which sank 11% to $8.7 billion, despite noteworthy gains in its HBO Max streaming business.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Retail investors were doing what they do best on Wednesday: Buying the dip in SpaceX shares aggressively, even as the company’s stock sank after it released its first earnings report as a publicly traded firm.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
SpaceX stock sank to $104.83 before closing at $114.53, up 5.7% on the first trading day of August.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
The decline was primarily due to the conflict in the Middle East, where RevPAR sank 43%, Marriott said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
His eyelids drooped, and his head sank below the surface.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
Two 80-metre barges are also being stationed at Paks that could be sunk to raise the water level.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
But the combined weight of the Covid pandemic, China's spiralling property slump and constricted borrowing limits for its citizens have sunk those sky-high ambitions, and all but ground the project to a standstill.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
In 1916, the Canadian ship SS Mount Temple was sunk by a German ship.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026
I was in my living room, sunk into the chaise lounge I retreat to, comfortable in a way that now embarrasses me, when I heard my mother’s voice in the other room calling my father.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
Like the soccer ball that Mav sunk his teeth into.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Jack Schmidt, director of the Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University, likened the measures to rearranging deck chairs on a sinking ship.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
"Thank God that a wave pushed the sinking vessel and we managed to climb on top," Chance Siyamavhu said at a memorial service in the lakeside town of Kariba close to the border with Zambia.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
Furthermore, the most recent joint intervention between the U.S. and Japan to support the sinking Japanese yen was carried out in a way that could further alienate the global investor community, Rosenberg said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
Ocean levels are increasing, while in many densely populated regions, the ground itself is also sinking.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026
My father’s letterman jacket is nowhere to be found—the mmoatia must’ve kept that for themselves before sinking into the ground.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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.
