immerse
Americanverb (used with object)
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immerses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
immersed,
past participle, past
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immersing
present participle
verb
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(often foll by in) to plunge or dip into liquid
-
to involve deeply; engross
to immerse oneself in a problem
-
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.
See Examples For:
People can type on a digital keyboard, play games and immerse themselves in a concert or basketball game as they watch a massive screen through the glasses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
“AI can give me a way to both more fully develop, and more fully immerse myself in, IP I have developed,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
It will immerse you in the action, put you in the arena or the stadium and give you the best seat.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
They now plan to turn the property into a holiday let, where fellow fans can literally immerse themselves in the show.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Galileo also wanted to construct an object which would fully immerse but not sink—an object with the same specific gravity as water.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
“It really immerses you into the intensity of these films, where you’re up close and personal with these characters.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
You can feel the quiet intensity with which this young man from the American Midwest immerses himself in the Old World and its wonders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
Porkalob wholly immerses herself in the world she’s conjuring.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026
"Rob is that kind of actor where he immerses himself so deeply you sort of don't know where he ends and the character begins," Evans said.
From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026
Instead, he immerses himself in the guidebook, studying the history of Mughal architecture, learning the succession of emperors’ names: Babur, Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
“So I fully see him, now that he is completely immersed into our culture, where the first month was trying to feel his way: ‘Where do I fit in?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
They placed the lenses over rabbit eyeballs immersed in a saline solution intended to mimic natural tears.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 29, 2026
She then immersed herself in the Social Democratic party, whose youth league she joined when she was 16.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
She wanted him immersed in that kind of environment for a full semester, despite the big financial commitment for their family.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
Others immersed the carcasses in long vats of salt water murky with the blood and fluids of the cattle that had come before them.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
Later, when Bond is whisked to Vietnam, the orchestra swells with suave panache, immersing you in the action before 007 has even uttered a quip.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
In “I Am Not a Robot,” she amusingly explores “what this world-changing technology actually means for us and our children” by immersing herself in AI for a year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
She battled dyslexia and dropped out of high school and then the London College of Fashion before immersing herself in the working world of fashion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2026
"We can levitate objects against gravity by immersing them in a sound field called a standing wave."
From Science Daily ● Mar. 22, 2026
Colin took a deep breath and slid down, immersing his head.
From "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green
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.
