immerse
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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(often foll by in) to plunge or dip into liquid
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to involve deeply; engross
to immerse oneself in a problem
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to baptize by immersion
Synonym Usage
See dip 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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immersesimple
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immersessimple
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have immersedperfect
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has immersedperfect
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am immersingprogressive
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are immersingprogressive
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is immersingprogressive
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have been immersingperfect progressive
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has been immersingperfect progressive
Past
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immersedsimple
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had immersedperfect
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was immersingprogressive
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were immersingprogressive
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had been immersingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of immerse
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin immersus “plunged, sunken into,” past participle of immergere “to dip, plunge, sink into”; see immerge
Explanation
If you immerse yourself in your work, you completely involve yourself in it, spending long hours in the office and thinking about work all the time. Immerse can also mean to submerge in a liquid. A science experiment might tell you to immerse a piece of paper completely in water. If you are a swimmer immersed in a rigorous training regimen, you might be immersing yourself in the pool several times a day.
Vocabulary lists containing immerse
ACT Vocabulary List
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With the Fire on High
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"Speaking Up"
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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.
“I like to immerse myself and have a real experience and hopefully make it funny so it’s like a spoonful of sugar for the audience as they learn something.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 25, 2026
Sometimes it really is as simple as putting on the wig or turning on a movie to immerse yourself in an experience beyond your own.
From Salon • Jun. 22, 2026
“Instead of reading ‘Gone with the Wind,’ I was happy to immerse myself in ‘Copper Ore Deposits in Chile,’” he wrote.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 22, 2026
"As a visitor, you can immerse yourself in a jungle, 30 degrees and 80% humidity, and wander round the park here, seeing butterflies from all over the world."
From BBC • May 22, 2026
I'd rather take these lessons, immerse myself the Method, and let my own story-telling skills do the work for me.
From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day
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.
