- past tense form of sink.
sank
Americanverb
verb
Compare meaning
How does sank compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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.
The consumer-price index sank 0.4% last month to mark the first drop since May 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic was in its early months and raging globally.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
International Business Machines IBM 0.93%increase; up pointing triangle shares sank more than 20% as the company issued a profit warning citing a shift in customer spending from software to AI hardware and memory chips.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
When French referee Clement Turpin signalled the end of an incident-filled quarter-final win in Miami, Thomas Tuchel's exhausted players sank to their knees in celebration after being taken to extra-time by Norway.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
Hot material consistently rose beneath the day side, flowed across the upper region, cooled as it reached the night side, then sank before returning through the lower mantle.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026
Selkie needed two rafts or she sank to the bottom.
From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr
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.
