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immerse

American  
[ih-murs] / ɪˈmɜrs /

verb (used with object)

immerses, present (3rd person singular) immersed, past participle, past immersing present participle
  1. to plunge into or place under a liquid; dip; sink.

    Synonyms:
    douse, duck, immerge
  2. to involve deeply; absorb.

    She is totally immersed in her law practice.

    Synonyms:
    engage
  3. to baptize by immersion.

  4. to embed; bury.

    Antonyms:
    disinter

immerse British  
/ ɪˈmɜːs /

verb

  1. (often foll by in) to plunge or dip into liquid

  2. to involve deeply; engross

    to immerse oneself in a problem

  3. to baptize by immersion

"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

Synonym Usage

See dip 1.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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.

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Vocabulary lists containing immerse

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.

As thrilling as it was to immerse myself in American sports, English football was my foundational text.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

This arrangement will allow me to immerse myself without being tempted to stare at my phone when I’m with my kid.

From Slate • May 10, 2026

While I love reading, one of its greatest pleasures is the way I can immerse myself in the world of a good book, in solitude.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

"Further, next-generation scientists immerse themselves in data science, in machine learning, artificial intelligence, and in electronics, and then go into industries with the deep skills they've gained while trying to answer these really difficult questions."

From Science Daily • Mar. 3, 2026

Any living musicians who did not fully immerse themselves in this system were ‘USELESS’.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

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