absorb

[ ab-sawrb, -zawrb ]

/ æbˈsɔrb, -ˈzɔrb /

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See synonyms for: absorb / absorbed / absorbing / absorbable on Thesaurus.com

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.

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.

OTHER WORDS FOR absorb

2 assimilate, consume, devour, engulf; destroy.

See synonyms for absorb on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of absorb

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

OTHER WORDS FROM absorb

ab·sorb·a·ble, adjectiveab·sorb·a·bil·i·ty, nounnon·ab·sorb·a·bil·i·ty, nounnon·ab·sorb·a·ble, adjective

o·ver·ab·sorb, verb (used with object)pre·ab·sorb, verbre·ab·sorb, verb (used with object)un·ab·sorb·a·ble, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH absorb

absorb , adsorb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use absorb in a sentence

Zuckerman cashed out about six months later, with Snyder and Drasner absorbing his roughly 15 percent stake.
Washington Football Team minority owners have a deal to sell, but Daniel Snyder is blocking it|Will Hobson, Mark Maske, Liz Clarke|November 20, 2020|Washington Post
Aspiring grandmasters can game against anyone, human or machine, at any time, and benefit from software that offers sophisticated feedback, absorbed by the malleable young brain.
Scientists Analyzed 24,000 Chess Matches to Understand Cognition - Facts So Romantic|Brian Gallagher|November 20, 2020|Nautilus
Some will default, leaving lenders to absorb the loss and hobbling the economic recovery.
Mounting commercial real estate losses threaten banks, recovery|David Lynch|November 11, 2020|Washington Post
Thanks to high pressure sitting in place over our region and absorbing surface pollution sources, some suboptimal air quality has developed, starting Friday.
PM Update: Warm, stagnant air continues into tomorrow|A. Camden Walker|November 8, 2020|Washington Post

Alcohol is readily absorbed through skin and can cause alcohol poisoning.
You Should Hot-Wax Your Bike Chains. Here's Why.|Joe Lindsey|November 6, 2020|Outside Online
The security and political price was relatively small and easily absorbable.
Why Release Terrorists?|Brent E. Sasley|July 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Mineral oils (refined paraffine) also are not absorbable, and they act with benefit in some cases.
Diet and Health|Lulu Hunt Peters
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

British Dictionary definitions for absorb

absorb

/ (əbˈsɔːb, -ˈzɔːb) /

verb (tr)

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 transactionthe 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 solidporous solids absorb water; hydrochloric acid absorbs carbon dioxide Compare adsorb

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

absorb

OTHER WORDS FOR absorb

Origin of absorb

OTHER WORDS FROM absorb

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH absorb

Words related to absorb

How to use absorb in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for absorb

Derived forms of absorb

Word Origin for absorb