drink
Americanverb (used without object)
-
drinks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
drunk,
past participle, past
-
drank,
past, past participle
-
drinking
present participle
-
to take water or other liquid into the mouth and swallow it; imbibe.
-
to imbibe alcoholic drinks, especially habitually or to excess; tipple: They won't find jobs until they stop drinking.
He never drinks.
They won't find jobs until they stop drinking.
- Synonyms:
- tope
-
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 byto ).
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)
-
drinks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
drunk,
past participle, past
-
drank,
past, past participle
-
drinking
present participle
-
to take (a liquid) into the mouth and swallow.
- Synonyms:
- quaff
-
to take in (a liquid) in any manner; absorb.
-
to take in through the senses, especially with eagerness and pleasure (often followed byin ).
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.
- Synonyms:
- toast
noun
-
drinks
plural
-
any liquid that is swallowed to quench thirst, for nourishment, etc.; beverage.
-
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.
verb
-
to swallow (a liquid); imbibe
-
(tr) to take in or soak up (liquid); absorb
this plant drinks a lot of water
-
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
-
to dispose of or ruin by excessive expenditure on alcohol
he drank away his fortune
-
(intr) to consume alcohol, esp to excess
-
to drink (a toast) in celebration, honour, or hope (of)
-
to be able to drink more intoxicating beverage than someone
-
to salute or celebrate with a toast
-
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
-
informal the sea
Usage
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.
Commonly Confused
See drunk ( def. ).
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
drinksimple
-
drinkssimple
-
have drankperfect
-
have drunkperfect
-
has drankperfect
-
has drunkperfect
-
am drinkingprogressive
-
are drinkingprogressive
-
is drinkingprogressive
-
have been drinkingperfect progressive
-
has been drinkingperfect progressive
Past
-
dranksimple
-
drunksimple
-
had drankperfect
-
had drunkperfect
-
was drinkingprogressive
-
were drinkingprogressive
-
had been drinkingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of drink
First recorded before 900; Middle English drinken, Old English drincan; cognate with Dutch drinken, German trinken, Gothic drinkan, Old Norse drekka
Explanation
To drink is to sip, slurp, or gulp a liquid. On extremely hot days, it's important to drink plenty of water. When you ingest any liquid, you drink it, although the verb drink is very often used to refer specifically to the sipping and swallowing of alcoholic beverages. If a bartender asks, "Do you drink?" she probably means "Do you drink alcohol?" A drink, likewise, can mean any beverage — tea, water, or lemonade — or it can mean an alcoholic one. The Old English root, drincan means both "to drink" and "to engulf."
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:
Another very old drink that has found new fans is orange wine, which has ascended as a rosé alternative.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
"Someone might invite you to go for food or to go for a drink - and you're like, 'I don't really want to say no because this is a chance to connect with someone.'"
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Looking at it, I understood immediately why someone might happily pay cocktail prices for a drink without alcohol.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
Younger generations drink less alcohol in general and are less likely to choose wine.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
“That’s what it means. I looked up the word ‘hydrophobia’ in the dictionary and it said very plainly that anything going mad refuses to drink water.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
The reopening was packed with shoppers, store owners and residents, who milled about the refurbished center and enjoyed free drinks and food offered from kiosks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
"It has been tough, however, we have been overwhelmed by the support we have received during this time," the service said, thanking local businesses "that have kept us fuelled with food and drinks".
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Longtime drinks writers Caroline Pardilla and Esther Tseng, who both started covering bars in the early 2000s, remember a pre-COVID nightlife landscape with later hours, more clubs and fewer alternatives competing for young people’s time.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
That contributed to the popularity of other DIY pickle-infused drinks, including pickle lemonade, pickle margaritas and this summer, white wine with frozen pickle slices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
She opened the refrigerator, a gallery of fruits and vegetables and cheeses and yogurts, with a whole shelf full of drinks.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
There have always been people who drank sparingly or didn’t drink at all.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
She ate and drank what would be expected of someone exerting herself to the nth degree.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
Saliva also helped restore normal acidity after participants drank soda or sparkling water.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026
The Scots drank every drop of beer in Boston.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
She tipped the bowl into Patch’s mouth and he drank it all.
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
In an egg-and-spoon race, no one gets lonely or drunk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Haddad, in his 60s, said he and his daughter had drunk six litres of water between them in a single day.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
That is a sign of a healthy market, not one drunk on euphoria.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 25, 2026
In just over a week, the Tartan Army have drunk the bars of Boston dry and won the heart of the city and its people.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
"Of course there wouldn't be! First thing he'd do when she'd drunk it would be to take that cup and saucer away and wash it up carefully."
From "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie
“I don’t think drinking or not drinking alcohol should have any impact on the definition of socialization.”
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
Designed to blend into the historic Baroque park, they are notable for their curved ceramic facades, daylight from skylights, accessibility features, drinking fountains -- and free use.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
Such changes match previous findings that daily orange juice drinking can reduce blood pressure in young adults.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026
“Drippy,” a walking drop of H2O, is the new face of efforts by New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection to emphasize the importance of clean drinking water.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
At the top, I pull one of the bottles out of my belt and pretend I’m too preoccupied with drinking water to answer his question.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
