immersion

American  

[ih-mur-zhuhn, -shuhn] / ɪˈmɜr ʒən, -ʃən /

noun

• immersions
  plural

1. an act or instance of immersing.

2. state of being immersed.

3. state of being deeply engaged or involved; absorption.

4. baptism in which the whole body of the person is submerged in the water.

5. Also called ingress.  Astronomy. the entrance of a heavenly body into an eclipse by another body, an occultation, or a transit.

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adjective

1. concentrating on one course of instruction, subject, or project to the exclusion of all others for several days or weeks; intensive.

   an immersion course in conversational French.

immersion British  

/ ɪˈmɜːʃən /

noun

1. a form of baptism in which part or the whole of a person's body is submerged in the water

2. Also: ingress.  astronomy the disappearance of a celestial body prior to an eclipse or occultation

3. the act of immersing or state of being immersed

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonimmersion
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• immersions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of immersion

1425–75; late Middle English < Late Latin immersiōn- (stem of immersiō ) a dipping in. See immerse, -ion

Explanation

Immersion is the act of dipping something in a substance, completely covering it. It might be something physical, such as plunging your body into water, or metaphorical, such as becoming totally immersed in a project. The Latin background of immersion includes the root mergere, "to plunge." The idea of immersion as a physical submergence came first and the idea of something being absorbed in a situation came about later. The idea behind immersion is that of complete coverage, whether that be by water, as in Baptism, or by attention, as in "immersion learning," an idea for learning a language trademarked in 1965 by the Berlitz company.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

immersion immersions

The minister said that sudden immersion in colder water on a hot day could cause shock, and in some cases "people can also exceed their physical capabilities".

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

Imax and Imax 70mm are built around scale and immersion, with the latter using rare 70mm film projection that has become a major draw for movie enthusiasts.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026

Separately, Bloomberg reported a Chinese company had started making immersion deep ultraviolet lithography machines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

In his desire to portray Adrian’s immersion in parasocial worlds filled with shadowy, destructive figures, McElwee’s own perspective was equally one-sided.

From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026

Angela, new mother, agitated, forgot she was holding the child and let him slip into the baptismal font, a total immersion of the Protestant type.

From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt

Repeated cold-water immersions during winter months have been shown to improve how the body responds to insulin, a hormone that controls blood sugar levels, Mercer noted.

From Washington Times ● Feb. 10, 2023

Yet my previous audio immersions in Joyce assured me that the text my eyes boggled at, my ears could relish.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 5, 2021

This can mean extreme adventure travel, as with companies like Britain-based Pelorus, which offers heli-skiing guided by retired military on active volcanoes in Kamchatka, and immersions with indigenous cultures in Angola and Papua New Guinea.

From New York Times ● Oct. 23, 2019

The movie, filmed from 2012-13, finds Abramovic facing an eclectic, esoteric string of sacred rituals, natural curative techniques and cathartic immersions with her trademark openness, curiosity and audacity.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2017

A few immersions will be found sufficient to render the article impervious to wet.

From Paper and Printing Recipes A Handy Volume of Practical Recipes, Concerning the Every-Day Business of Stationers, Printers, Binders, and the Kindred Trades by J. Sawtelle Ford