drank
[drangk]
- a simple past tense and past participle of drink.
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drink
[dringk]
- to take water or other liquid into the mouth and swallow it; imbibe.
- to imbibe alcoholic drinks, especially habitually or to excess; tipple: He never drinks. They won't find jobs until they stop drinking.
- to show one's respect, affection, or hopes with regard to a person, thing, or event by ceremoniously taking a swallow of wine or some other drink (often followed by to): They drank to his victory.
- to be savored or enjoyed by drinking: a wine that will drink deliciously for many years.
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- to take (a liquid) into the mouth and swallow.
- to take in (a liquid) in any manner; absorb.
- to take in through the senses, especially with eagerness and pleasure (often followed by in): He drank in the beauty of the scene.
- to swallow the contents of (a cup, glass, etc.).
- to propose or participate in a toast to (a person, thing, or event): to drink one's health.
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- any liquid that is swallowed to quench thirst, for nourishment, etc.; beverage.
- liquor; alcohol.
- excessive indulgence in alcohol: Drink was his downfall.
- a swallow or draft of liquid; potion: She took a drink of water before she spoke.
- Informal. a large body of water, as a lake, ocean, river, etc. (usually preceded by the): His teammates threw him in the drink.
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Origin of drink
before 900; Middle English drinken, Old English drincan; cognate with Dutch drinken, German trinken, Gothic drinkan, Old Norse drekka
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comSynonym study
5. Drink, imbibe, sip refer to swallowing liquids. Drink is the general word: to drink coffee. Imbibe is formal in reference to actual drinking; it is used more often in the sense to absorb: to imbibe culture. Sip implies drinking little by little: to sip a cup of broth.
Usage note
As with many verbs of the pattern sing, sang, sung and ring, rang, rung, there is some confusion about the forms for the past tense and past participle of drink. The historical reason for this confusion is that originally verbs of this class in Old English had a past-tense singular form in a but a past-tense plural form in u. Generally the form in a has leveled out to become the standard past-tense form: We drank our coffee. However, the past-tense form in u, though considered nonstandard, occurs often in speech: We drunk our coffee.
The standard and most frequent form of the past participle of drink in both speech and writing is drunk : Who has drunk all the milk? However, perhaps because of the association of drunk with intoxication, drank is widely used as a past participle in speech by educated persons and must be considered an alternate standard form: The tourists had drank their fill of the scenery. See also drunk.
The standard and most frequent form of the past participle of drink in both speech and writing is drunk : Who has drunk all the milk? However, perhaps because of the association of drunk with intoxication, drank is widely used as a past participle in speech by educated persons and must be considered an alternate standard form: The tourists had drank their fill of the scenery. See also drunk.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
inhaleconsumesipdraingulpguzzlesuckquaffslurptoastspongegargleirrigatesloshswillimbibeabsorbswigindulgetippleExamples from the Web for drank
Contemporary Examples
“Bars love to tell those stories: ‘So and so drank here, and George Washington slept here,’” Sismondo says.
Normally at high latitude you feel really unwell, but I drank it and felt rejuvenated.
Caligula drank “pearls of great price dissolved in vinegar.”
Then, she claims that after she drank the coffee, she felt woozy.
How Bill Cosby Allegedly Silenced His Accusers Through A Tabloid Smear CampaignMarlow Stern
November 21, 2014
As President, the Father of the Constitution James Madison drank a pint a day.
Historical Examples
He raised his flagon and drank to him, with a merry flash of his white teeth.
The White CompanyArthur Conan Doyle
Katie brought his coffee to his room, and he drank it standing.
KMary Roberts Rinehart
The night assistant sent coffee down to them, and they drank it.
KMary Roberts Rinehart
No one drank except as the leader said they could, and at night they made prayers and songs.
The Trail BookMary Austin
Laughingly they drank this toast; and the skewers were filled a second time.
Her Father's DaughterGene Stratton-Porter
drank
- the past tense of drink
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drink
- to swallow (a liquid); imbibe
- (tr) to take in or soak up (liquid); absorbthis plant drinks a lot of water
- (tr usually foll by in) to pay close attention (to); be fascinated (by)he drank in the speaker's every word
- (tr) to bring (oneself into a certain condition) by consuming alcohol
- (tr often foll by away) to dispose of or ruin by excessive expenditure on alcoholhe drank away his fortune
- (intr) to consume alcohol, esp to excess
- (when intr, foll by to) to drink (a toast) in celebration, honour, or hope (of)
- drink someone under the table to be able to drink more intoxicating beverage than someone
- drink the health of to salute or celebrate with a toast
- drink with the flies Australian informal to drink alone
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- liquid suitable for drinking; any beverage
- alcohol or its habitual or excessive consumption
- a portion of liquid for drinking; draught
- the drink informal the sea
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Word Origin
Old English drincan; related to Old Frisian drinka, Gothic drigkan, Old High German trinkan
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
Word Origin and History for drank
drink
v.
Old English drincan "to drink," also "to swallow up, engulf" (class III strong verb; past tense dranc, past participle druncen), from Proto-Germanic *drengkan (cf. Old Saxon drinkan, Old Frisian drinka, Dutch drinken, Old High German trinkan, German trinken, Old Norse drekka, Gothic drigkan "to drink"), of uncertain origin, perhaps from a root meaning "to draw." Not found outside Germanic.
Most Indo-European words for this trace to PIE *po(i)- (cf. Greek pino, Latin biber, Irish ibim, Old Church Slavonic piti, Russian pit'; see imbibe).
The noun meaning "beverage, alcoholic beverage" was in late Old English.
The noun, AS. drinc, would normally have given southern drinch (cf. drench), but has been influenced by the verb. [Weekley]
To drink like a fish is first recorded 1747.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with drank
drink
In addition to the idioms beginning with drink
- drink like a fish
- drink to
also see:
- drive someone crazy (to drink)
- into the drink
- meat and drink to
- nurse a drink
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.