sink

[ singk ]

/ sɪŋk /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sink ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), sank or, often, sunk; sunk or sunk·en; sink·ing.

to displace part of the volume of a supporting substance or object and become totally or partially submerged or enveloped; fall or descend into or below the surface or to the bottom (often followed by in or into): The battleship sank within two hours. His foot sank in the mud. Her head sinks into the pillows.

to fall, drop, or descend gradually to a lower level: The river sank two feet during the dry spell.

to settle or fall gradually, as a heavy structure: The tower is slowly sinking.

to fall or collapse slowly from weakness, fatigue, distress, etc.: He gasped and sank to his knees.

to slope downward; dip: The field sinks toward the highway.

to go down toward or below the horizon: the sun sinks in the west.

to penetrate, permeate, or seep (usually followed by in or into): Wipe the oil off before it sinks into the wood.

to become engulfed or absorbed in or gradually to enter a state (usually followed by in or into): to sink into slumber.

to be or become deeply absorbed or involved in a mood or mental state (usually followed by in or into): sunk in thought. She sank into despair.

to pass or fall into some lower state, as of fortune, estimation, etc.; degenerate: to sink into poverty.

to decline or deteriorate in quality or worth.

to fail in physical strength or health.

to decrease in amount, extent, intensity, etc.: The temperature sank to 30° at noon.

to become lower in volume, tone, or pitch: Her voice sank to a whisper.

to enter or permeate the mind; become known or understood (usually followed by in or into): He said it four times before the words really sank in.

to become concave; become hollow, as the cheeks.

to drop or fall gradually into a lower position: He sank down on the bench.

verb (used with object), sank or, often, sunk; sunk or sunk·en; sink·ing.

to cause to become submerged or enveloped; force into or below the surface; cause to plunge in or down: The submarine sank the battleship. He sank his fist into the pillow.

to cause to fall, drop, or descend gradually.

to cause to penetrate: to sink an ax into a tree trunk.

to lower or depress the level of: They sank the roadway by five feet.

to bury, plant, or lay (a pipe, conduit, etc.) into or as if into the ground.

to dig, bore, or excavate (a hole, shaft, well, etc.).

to bring to a worse or lower state or status.

to bring to utter ruin or collapse: Drinking and gambling sank him completely.

to reduce in amount, extent, intensity, etc.

to lower in volume, tone, or pitch.

to suppress; ignore; omit.

to invest in the hope of making a profit or gaining some other return: He sank all his efforts into the business.

to lose (money) in an unfortunate investment, enterprise, etc.

Sports.

to throw, shoot, hit, or propel (a ball) so that it goes through or into the basket, hole, pocket, etc.: She sank the 10 ball into the side pocket.
to execute (a stroke or throw) so that the ball goes through or into the basket, hole, pocket, etc.: to sink a putt; to sink a free throw.

noun

a basin or receptacle, as in a kitchen or laundry, usually connected with a water supply and drainage system, for washing dishes, clothing, etc.

a low-lying, poorly drained area where waters collect and sink into the ground or evaporate.

sinkhole(def 2).

a place of vice or corruption.

a drain or sewer.

a device or place for disposing of energy within a system, as a power-consuming device in an electrical circuit or a condenser in a steam engine.

any pond or pit for sewage or waste, as a cesspool or a pool for industrial wastes.

any natural process by which contaminants are removed from the atmosphere.

Nearby words

sinistropedal, sinistrorse, sinistrotorsion, sinistrous, sinitic, sink, sink in, sink one's teeth into, sink or swim, sink through the floor, sinkage

Idioms

sink one's teeth into,

to bite deeply or vigorously.
to do or enter into with great enthusiasm, concentration, conviction, etc.: to sink my teeth into solving the problem.

Origin of sink

before 1000; (v.) Middle English sinken, Old English sincan; cognate with Dutch zinken, German sinken, Old Norse sǫkkva, Gothic singkwan; (noun) late Middle English: cesspool, derivative of the v.

Related forms

sink·a·ble, adjectivesink·like, adjectivehalf-sink·ing, adjectivenon·sink·a·ble, adjective

self-sink·ing, adjectiveun·sink·a·ble, adjectiveun·sink·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sink

Within a matter of hours, the vessel that Mooney had crafted began to sink.
Victor Mooney’s Epic Adventure for His Dead Brother|Justin Jones|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And lo and behold, she was determined to sink the mining industry, and we were determined to fight for our community.
‘Pride’: The Feel-Good Movie of the Year, and the Film Rupert Murdoch Doesn’t Want You to See|Marlow Stern|October 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I was stuck between the sink and the stove, which I thought was fantastic!
Julianna Margulies's Favorite 'The Good Wife' Scenes|Julianna Margulies|August 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Instead they often sink in silence, bodies and all, to the bottom of the sea.
The Racism of Disaster Coverage|Barbie Latza Nadeau|July 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST

When the verdict came through, he said, “It took a moment to sink in but I felt gutted, absolutely gutted.”
Egyptian Court Hands Down Stiff Sentences for Al-Jazeera Journalists|Jesse Rosenfeld|June 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He could sink it to a whisper and still be audible, while in open-air meetings he could easily make himself heard by thousands.
Successful Methods of Public Speaking|Grenville Kleiser
A sudden realization that the Englishman might consider her exploit ill-bred caused her to sink back out of sight.
Into the Primitive|Robert Ames Bennet
She entered a vast field of ice, and only her ability to sink below the surface enabled her to get through it unharmed.
Under the Ocean to the South Pole|Roy Rockwood
We work like sailors executing their last manœuver after the ship has begun to sink.
The Kingdom of God is Within You, What is Art|Lyof N. Tolstoi
Shall we grasp at a shadow in the stream, like the dog in the fable, and drop the substance to sink away from us beyond recall?
Proceedings of the Second National Conservation Congress|Various

British Dictionary definitions for sink

sink

/ (sɪŋk) /

verb sinks, sinking, sank, sunk or sunken

to descend or cause to descend, esp beneath the surface of a liquid or soft substance

(intr) to appear to move down towards or descend below the horizon

(intr) to slope downwards; dip

(intr; often foll by in or into) to pass into or gradually enter a specified lower state or conditionto sink into apathy

to make or become lower in volume, pitch, etc

to make or become lower in value, price, etc

(intr) to become weaker in health, strength, etc

to decline or cause to decline in moral value, worth, etc

(intr) to seep or penetrate

(tr) to suppress or concealhe sank his worries in drink

(tr) to dig, cut, drill, bore, or excavate (a hole, shaft, etc)

(tr) to drive into the groundto sink a stake

(tr; usually foll by in or into)

to invest (money)
to lose (money) in an unwise or unfortunate investment

(tr) to pay (a debt)

(intr) to become hollow; cave inhis cheeks had sunk during his illness

(tr) to hit, throw, or propel (a ball) into a hole, basket, pocket, etche sank a 15-foot putt

(tr) British informal to drink, esp quicklyhe sank three pints in half an hour

sink or swim to take risks where the alternatives are loss and failure or security and success

noun

a fixed basin, esp in a kitchen, made of stone, earthenware, metal, etc, used for washing

See sinkhole

another word for cesspool

a place of vice or corruption

an area of ground below that of the surrounding land, where water collects

physics a device or part of a system at which energy is removed from the systema heat sink

adjective

informal (of a housing estate or school) deprived or having low standards of achievement

Derived Formssinkable, adjective

Word Origin for sink

Old English sincan; related to Old Norse sökkva to sink, Gothic siggan, Old High German sincan, Swedish sjunka

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

Word Origin and History for sink (1 of 2)

sink

Old English sincan (intransitive) "become submerged, go under, subside" (past tense sanc, past participle suncen), from Proto-Germanic *senkwanan (cf. Old Saxon sinkan, Old Norse sökkva, Middle Dutch sinken, Dutch zinken, Old High German sinkan, German sinken, Gothic sigqan), from PIE root *sengw- "to sink."

The transitive use (mid-13c.) supplanted Middle English sench (cf. drink/drench) which died out 14c. Related: Sank; sunk; sinking. Sinking fund is from 1724. Adjective phrase sink or swim is from 1660s. To sink without a trace is World War I military jargon, translating German spurlos versenkt.

Word Origin and History for sink (1 of 2)

sink

early 15c., "cesspool, pit for reception of wastewater or sewage," from sink (v.). Figurative sense of "place where corruption and vice abound" is from 1520s. Meaning "drain for carrying water to a sink" is from late 15c. Sense of "shallow basin (especially in a kitchen) with a drainpipe for carrying off dirty water" first recorded 1560s. In science and technical use, "place where heat or other energy is removed from a system" (opposite of source), from 1855.

Science definitions for sink

sink

[ sĭngk ]

A part of the physical environment, or more generally any physical system, that absorbs some form of matter or energy. For example, a forest acts as a sink for carbon dioxide because it absorbs more of the gas in photosynthesis than it releases in respiration. Coral reefs are a long-lasting sink for carbon, which they sequester in their skeletons in the form of calcium carbonate.

Geology

See playa.
See sinkhole.
A circular depression on the flank of a volcano, caused by the collapse of a volcanic wall.

Idioms and Phrases with sink

sink

In addition to the idioms beginning with sink

sink in
sinking feeling, a
sink one's teeth into
sink or swim
sink through the floor

also see:

desert a sinking ship
enough to sink a ship
everything but the kitchen sink
heart sinks

sink

verb (used without object), sank or, often, sunk; sunk or sunk·en; sink·ing.

verb (used with object), sank or, often, sunk; sunk or sunk·en; sink·ing.

noun

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Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of sink

Examples from the Web for sink

British Dictionary definitions for sink

sink

verb sinks, sinking, sank, sunk or sunken

noun

adjective

Word Origin for sink

Word Origin and History for sink (1 of 2)

sink

Word Origin and History for sink (1 of 2)

sink

Science definitions for sink

sink

Idioms and Phrases with sink

sink

sink

verb (used with object), sank or, often, sunk; sunk or sunk·en; sink·ing.

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of sink

Examples from the Web for sink

British Dictionary definitions for.css-ylq2vz{color:#1a1a1a;} sink

sink

verb sinks, sinking, sank, sunk or sunken

noun

adjective

Word Origin for sink

Word Origin and History for sink (1 of 2)

sink

Word Origin and History for sink (1 of 2)

sink

Science definitions for sink

sink

Idioms and Phrases with sink

sink

British Dictionary definitions for sink