absorb

[ ab-sawrb, -zawrb ]
/ æbˈsɔrb, -ˈzɔrb /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR absorb ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

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DO YOU KNOW THIS VOCABULARY FROM "THE HANDMAID'S TALE"?

"The Handmaid's Tale" was required reading for many of us in school. Everyone else has probably watched the very popular and addictive TV show. Do you remember this vocabulary from the book, and do you know what these terms mean?
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decorum
the act of or need for making up one's mind.
dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc.
a company of singers, especially an organized group employed in church service.
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Origin of absorb

1480–90; < Latin absorbēre, equivalent to ab- ab- + sorbēre to suck in, swallow

OTHER WORDS FROM absorb

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH absorb

absorb adsorb

Words nearby absorb

absolutive, absolutize, absolutory, absolve, absonant, absorb, absorbable gelatin film, absorbable suture, absorbance, absorbed, absorbed dose
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to absorbable

edible

Example sentences from the Web for absorbable

  • Their action is very similar to the action of giant cells in the soft tissues about absorbable foreign bodies.

    Surgery, with Special Reference to Podiatry|Maximilian Stern

  • Mineral oils (refined paraffine) also are not absorbable, and they act with benefit in some cases.

    Diet and Health|Lulu Hunt Peters

British Dictionary definitions for absorbable

absorb
/ (əbˈsɔːb, -ˈzɔːb) /

verb (tr)

Derived forms of absorb

absorbability, nounabsorbable, adjective

Word Origin for absorb

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

Medical definitions for absorbable

absorb
[ əb-zôrb′ ]

v.

To take in by absorption.
To reduce the intensity of transmitted light.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.