Synonyms

absorb

American

[ab-sawrb, -zawrb] / æbˈsɔrb, -ˈzɔrb /

verb (used with object)

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

A sponge absorbs water.
to swallow up the identity or individuality of; incorporate.

The empire absorbed many small nations.

Synonyms:

destroy, engulf, devour, consume, assimilate
to involve the full attention of; to engross or engage wholly.

so absorbed in a book that he did not hear the bell.
to occupy or fill.

This job absorbs all of my time.
to take up or receive by chemical or molecular action.

Carbonic acid is formed when water absorbs carbon dioxide.
to take in without echo, recoil, or reflection.

to absorb sound and light; to absorb shock.
to take in and utilize.

The market absorbed all the computers we could build. Can your brain absorb all this information?
to pay for (costs, taxes, etc.).

The company will absorb all the research costs.
Archaic. to swallow up.

absorb British

/ əbˈsɔːb, -ˈzɔːb /

verb

to soak or suck up (liquids)
to engage or occupy (the interest, attention, or time) of (someone); engross
to receive or take in (the energy of an impact)
physics to take in (all or part of incident radiated energy) and retain the part that is not reflected or transmitted
to take in or assimilate; incorporate
to accept and find a market for (goods, etc)
to pay for as part of a commercial transaction

the distributor absorbed the cost of transport
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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of absorb

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

Explanation

To absorb is to take in or suck up like a sponge. If you don't hear your mother calling because you are reading, you could say you were absorbed in the book. If your parents buy groceries for a party you are throwing and don't make you pay, you could say that they decided to absorb the cost of the food. Young minds absorb information easily. The word, absorbent, describes something that is capable of absorbing something else. When you go swimming on a chilly day, it's best to carry an absorbent towel so that all of the water is absorbed from the surface of your skin.

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Vocabulary lists containing absorb

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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:

absorb absorbs absorbed absorbing

Nvidia can easily absorb some big impacts, with more than $80 billion of cash and marketable securities on its balance sheet as of its last fiscal quarter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

While good news for regions plagued by drought, significant accumulations could lead to flash flooding where the ground is too dry and hard to absorb the downpours.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

Larger companies tend to have a bigger buffer that allows them to absorb more of these costs.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

According to Clecat, "whether higher logistics costs translate materially into consumer prices depends on the duration of the disruption, the commodity and companies' ability to absorb or pass on costs".

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

You can shield them with your body and soul, trying to absorb that awful rain, but they’ll still move toward him.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Use them in the same year and the deduction absorbs conversion income that would otherwise be taxed at your top rate.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

Healthcare now absorbs 18% of gross domestic product.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

Its open crumb absorbs just enough sauce to become more flavorful as it sits, while the soft crust remains easy to eat on a towel without showering your lap in shards.

From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026

In the U-M setup, the material absorbs the incoming light through two pathways at the same time.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026

I showed them a jellyfish that lights up like police flashers when it’s threatened, and another jellyfish that absorbs all the light that surrounds it.

From "The Thing About Jellyfish" by Ali Benjamin

You might have absorbed her cumulative presence across decades of guest roles from “The Twilight Zone” to “The Rockford Files” to “Newhart.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026

While it has suffered thousands of casualties, its troops are now drone-savvy, having absorbed the lessons of the Ukraine war.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

Those additional particles may alter cloud cover, which in turn affects the Earth's radiation balance by changing how much energy is absorbed or reflected.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 18, 2026

Most of the rain that does eventually fall will be absorbed by the parched ground before it can replenish rivers, exacerbating the problem.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

Henry had got a copy of Dante’s Purgatorio from my bookshelf and was reading it, absorbed.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

Materials can behave in unexpected ways after absorbing light.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026

Amazon and Twitch are not the first to start absorbing user data to build AI models as competition in the sector heats up.

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

Oceans are a vital regulator of the climate, absorbing most of the excess heat generated by greenhouse gas emissions and producing half of Earth's oxygen.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

Disney+ is absorbing Hulu, and it’s reached a point where it seems foolish to still use the standalone services as opposed to the bundle.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026

There's plenty of condensation on the walls and domed roof, and the soil is certainly absorbing its fair share.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023