absorb

[ab-sawrb, -zawrb]

verb (used with object)

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

   A sponge absorbs water.

2. to swallow up the identity or individuality of; incorporate.

   The empire absorbed many small nations.

   Synonyms: destroy, engulf, devour, consume, assimilate

3. to involve the full attention of; to engross or engage wholly.

   so absorbed in a book that he did not hear the bell.

4. to occupy or fill.

   This job absorbs all of my time.

5. to take up or receive by chemical or molecular action.

   Carbonic acid is formed when water absorbs carbon dioxide.

6. to take in without echo, recoil, or reflection.

   to absorb sound and light; to absorb shock.

7. to take in and utilize.

   The market absorbed all the computers we could build. Can your brain absorb all this information?

8. to pay for (costs, taxes, etc.).

   The company will absorb all the research costs.

9. Archaic.,  to swallow up.

absorb

/ əbˈsɔːb, -ˈzɔːb /

verb

1. to soak or suck up (liquids)

2. to engage or occupy (the interest, attention, or time) of (someone); engross

3. to receive or take in (the energy of an impact)

4. physics to take in (all or part of incident radiated energy) and retain the part that is not reflected or transmitted

5. to take in or assimilate; incorporate

6. to accept and find a market for (goods, etc)

7. to pay for as part of a commercial transaction

   the distributor absorbed the cost of transport

8. 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

Other Word Forms

• absorbability noun
• absorbable adjective
• nonabsorbability noun
• nonabsorbable adjective
• overabsorb verb (used with object)
• preabsorb verb
• reabsorb verb (used with object)
• unabsorbable adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of absorb¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of absorb¹

C15: via Old French from Latin absorbēre to suck, swallow, from _ab- ¹ + sorbēre to suck

Example Sentences

They have lost their two top running backs, too, and cannot protect Justin Herbert, absorbing more hits than any quarterback in the league.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Mr Banayee says he absorbed all kinds of myths, believing that the body of a martyr would not rot and that birds would warn Muslims of incoming bomber aircraft.

Read more on BBC

Following his sojourn in Europe and a brief stint back stateside, he won another fellowship to study in Mexico, where he absorbed the lessons of the activist muralists there.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Bottom line, says Dallas Fed economist Anton Cheremukhin, is that the U.S. economy now needs to create far fewer jobs each month in order to absorb all the new workers and keep unemployment down.

Read more on MarketWatch

The state labor minister promptly rejected the request, declaring that the company could absorb its losses and stage a comeback.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• assimilate 
• follow 
• get 
• incorporate 
• learn 
• take in 
• understand