drink

[ dringk ]

/ drɪŋk /

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See synonyms for: drink / drank / drinking / drinks on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), drank

[drangk] /dræŋk/ or (Nonstandard) drunk

[druhngk]; /drʌŋk/; drunk or, often, drank; drink·ing.

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.

verb (used with object), drank

[drangk] /dræŋk/ or (Nonstandard) drunk

[druhngk]; /drʌŋk/; drunk or, often, drank; drink·ing.

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.

noun

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.Usually the drink . a large body of water, as a lake, ocean, river, etc.: His teammates threw him in the drink.

OTHER WORDS FOR drink

2 tope.

5 quaff.

9 toast.

See synonyms for drink on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of drink

First recorded before 900; Middle English drinken, Old English drincan; cognate with Dutch drinken, German trinken, Gothic drinkan, Old Norse drekka

synonym study for drink

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 for drink

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.

words often confused with drink

See drunk.

OTHER WORDS FROM drink

outdrink, verb (used with object), out·drank or (Nonstandard) out·drunk; out·drunk or, often, out·drank; out·drink·ing.o·ver·drink, verb (used with object), o·ver·drank or (Nonstandard) o·ver·drunk; o·ver·drunk or, often, o·ver·drank; o·ver·drink·ing.

Words nearby drink

drill tower, drily, Drin, Drina, D-ring, drink, drinkable, drink-driver, drink-driving, drinker, drinker moth

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

How to use drink in a sentence

Pack it with snacks, drinks, chairs, and blankets and move from one spot to the next until you find the perfect fishing hole.
Three Family-Friendly Adventures to Try This Fall|Outside Editors|September 17, 2020|Outside Online
On what was going to be probably our third round, my girlfriend went into the bar, fully masked, to ask Terry for drinks.
The Last Bar Standing?|Eugene Robinson|September 15, 2020|Ozy
People would buy sodas to go with lunches they got from the food court, or energy drinks before a Browns or Cavaliers game.
The Big Corporate Rescue and the America That’s Too Small to Save|by Lydia DePillis, Justin Elliott and Paul Kiel|September 12, 2020|ProPublica
Getting in at least one daily work out is great, but you should still get up and move around regularly throughout the day — even if it’s just to get a drink of water or play with a pet.
Healthy screen time is one challenge of distance learning|Kathryn Hulick|September 11, 2020|Science News For Students

So while I have to reach for a drink on this belt, it’s never a problem as the bottle is angled up and easy to find.
I Don't Fear Scorching Runs with This Hydration Belt|Jakob Schiller|August 28, 2020|Outside Online
Coca-Cola was a wildly popular drink and hangover remedy because, well, it contained cocaine.
History's Craziest Hangover Cures|Justin Jones|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Their logic: the sea-creature would come alive and drink up any remaining alcohol.
History's Craziest Hangover Cures|Justin Jones|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
You would drink it, then “take a little nap and after that you feel wonderful,” according to a press agent.
History's Craziest Hangover Cures|Justin Jones|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Adults prepare food and drink dark sweet tea on the doorsteps of their homes as they watch their children playing.
The Brothers Who Ambushed ISIS|Mohammed A. Salih|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Moviegoers enjoyed a drink at the bar and milled around waiting for the 10:15 p.m. showing of The Interview.
I Was Honeydicked Into Spending Christmas with ‘The Interview’|Allison McNearney|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The general commanded a halt, and ordered the men to refresh and strengthen themselves by food and drink.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
It was he who first said, If thine enemy hunger give him food, if he thirst give him drink.
Solomon and Solomonic Literature|Moncure Daniel Conway
What is, then, this precious drink I read of in my Shakespeare—so precious, that your lordship will not trust him to his butler?
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
Over to the spring he ran on his little short legs, and soon he was having a fine drink.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum
Woe to you that rise up early in the morning to follow drunkenness, and to drink in the evening, to be inflamed with wine.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various

British Dictionary definitions for drink

drink

/ (drɪŋk) /

verb drinks, drinking, drank (dræŋk) or drunk (drʌŋk)

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

noun

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

Derived forms of drink

drinkable, adjective

Word Origin for drink

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with drink

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

drink

OTHER WORDS FOR drink

Origin of drink

synonym study for drink

usage note for drink

words often confused with drink

OTHER WORDS FROM drink

Words nearby drink

Words related to drink

How to use drink in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for drink

Derived forms of drink

Word Origin for drink

Other Idioms and Phrases with drink