sink
Americanverb (used without object)
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sinks,
present (3rd person singular)
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sunk,
past participle, past
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sank,
past
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sinking
present participle
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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 orinto ).
The battleship sank within two hours. His foot sank in the mud. Her head sinks into the pillows.
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to fall, drop, or descend gradually to a lower level.
The river sank two feet during the dry spell.
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to settle or fall gradually, as a heavy structure.
The tower is slowly sinking.
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to fall or collapse slowly from weakness, fatigue, distress, etc..
He gasped and sank to his knees.
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to slope downward; dip.
The field sinks toward the highway.
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to go down toward or below the horizon.
the sun sinks in the west.
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to penetrate, permeate, or seep (usually followed by in orinto ).
Wipe the oil off before it sinks into the wood.
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to become engulfed or absorbed in or gradually to enter a state (usually followed by in orinto ).
to sink into slumber.
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to be or become deeply absorbed or involved in a mood or mental state (usually followed by in orinto ).
sunk in thought. She sank into despair.
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to pass or fall into some lower state, as of fortune, estimation, etc.; degenerate.
to sink into poverty.
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to decline or deteriorate in quality or worth.
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to fail in physical strength or health.
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to decrease in amount, extent, intensity, etc..
The temperature sank to 30° at noon.
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to become lower in volume, tone, or pitch.
Her voice sank to a whisper.
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to enter or permeate the mind; become known or understood (usually followed by in orinto ).
He said it four times before the words really sank in.
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to become concave; become hollow, as the cheeks.
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to drop or fall gradually into a lower position.
He sank down on the bench.
verb (used with object)
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sinks,
present (3rd person singular)
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sunk,
past participle, past
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sank,
past
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sinking
present participle
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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.
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to cause to fall, drop, or descend gradually.
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to cause to penetrate.
to sink an ax into a tree trunk.
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to lower or depress the level of.
They sank the roadway by five feet.
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to bury, plant, or lay (a pipe, conduit, etc.) into or as if into the ground.
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to dig, bore, or excavate (a hole, shaft, well, etc.).
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to bring to a worse or lower state or status.
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to bring to utter ruin or collapse.
Drinking and gambling sank him completely.
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to reduce in amount, extent, intensity, etc.
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to lower in volume, tone, or pitch.
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to suppress; ignore; omit.
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to invest in the hope of making a profit or gaining some other return.
He sank all his efforts into the business.
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to lose (money) in an unfortunate investment, enterprise, etc.
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Sports.
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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.
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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.
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noun
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sinks
plural
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a basin or receptacle, as in a kitchen or laundry, usually connected with a water supply and drainage system, for washing dishes, clothing, etc.
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a low-lying, poorly drained area where waters collect and sink into the ground or evaporate.
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a place of vice or corruption.
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a drain or sewer.
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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.
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any pond or pit for sewage or waste, as a cesspool or a pool for industrial wastes.
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any natural process by which contaminants are removed from the atmosphere.
idioms
verb
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to descend or cause to descend, esp beneath the surface of a liquid or soft substance
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(intr) to appear to move down towards or descend below the horizon
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(intr) to slope downwards; dip
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(intr; often foll by in or into) to pass into or gradually enter a specified lower state or condition
to sink into apathy
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to make or become lower in volume, pitch, etc
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to make or become lower in value, price, etc
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(intr) to become weaker in health, strength, etc
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to decline or cause to decline in moral value, worth, etc
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(intr) to seep or penetrate
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(tr) to suppress or conceal
he sank his worries in drink
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(tr) to dig, cut, drill, bore, or excavate (a hole, shaft, etc)
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(tr) to drive into the ground
to sink a stake
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(tr; usually foll by in or into)
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to invest (money)
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to lose (money) in an unwise or unfortunate investment
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(tr) to pay (a debt)
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(intr) to become hollow; cave in
his cheeks had sunk during his illness
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(tr) to hit, throw, or propel (a ball) into a hole, basket, pocket, etc
he sank a 15-foot putt
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informal (tr) to drink, esp quickly
he sank three pints in half an hour
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to take risks where the alternatives are loss and failure or security and success
noun
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a fixed basin, esp in a kitchen, made of stone, earthenware, metal, etc, used for washing
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See sinkhole
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another word for cesspool
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a place of vice or corruption
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an area of ground below that of the surrounding land, where water collects
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physics a device or part of a system at which energy is removed from the system
a heat sink
adjective
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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.
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Geology
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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half-sinkingadjective
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nonsinkableadjective
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self-sinkingadjective
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sinkableadjective
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sinklikeadjective
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unsinkableadjective
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unsinkingadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sinksimple
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sinkssimple
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have sunkperfect
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has sunkperfect
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am sinkingprogressive
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are sinkingprogressive
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is sinkingprogressive
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have been sinkingperfect progressive
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has been sinkingperfect progressive
Past
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sanksimple
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sunksimple
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had sunkperfect
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was sinkingprogressive
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were sinkingprogressive
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had been sinkingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sink
First recorded before 1000; (verb) 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 verb
Explanation
When things sink, they settle or drop to a lower level. If your kayak has a leak, it might fill with water and sink to the bottom of the lake. Things can sink, like a toy octopus descending to the bottom of the bathtub or the sun appearing to sink below the horizon. You can also deliberately sink something, as when you capsize your friend's remote controlled speedboat on purpose. When sink is a noun, it's the water basin in your kitchen or bathroom. The Old English root of both kinds of sink is sincan, "become submerged or go under," from a Germanic source.
Vocabulary lists containing sink
How Low Can You Go? Synonyms for "Downward"
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Units 2–3
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Going Down: Synonyms for "Fall"
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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:
In Malibu, an enormous sink hole emerged in the driveway of a home belonging to Hollywood actor Nicolas Cage when pounding waves from a nearby hurricane eroded the coastline.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
Natural gas futures sink 1.3% to $3.065 per mmBtu.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
In other words, they throw in everything but the kitchen sink into their calculations.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026
McCarthy says how much you sink into your mattress "makes a huge difference in the subsequent height you then need from the pillow".
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
Another pile of garbage bags sits in front of the sink, doing nothing to hide the yellowed linoleum flooring that’s cracked and peeling where it meets the worn brown carpeting of the living room.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
However, wet and blustery weather will move across some northern parts of the UK and as that sinks southwards later in the week it will introduce chillier air.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
Some AI stocks are rising even as investors fret about a flare-up in inflation, while Casey’s sinks despite a first-quarter earnings beat.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
It also featured Moroccan sinks, a pool and spa, a stone fire pit, and a barbecue area.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
Hot plasma rises from deeper inside the Sun, cools near the surface, and then sinks back down.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026
She stabs her phone off, circles the room a few times, then sinks onto the sofa and starts to cry—huge sobs.
From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper
Romania reported on Monday that a grain ship had caught fire and sank in the Black Sea, with one crew member killed and one missing.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
October 2008 was bad too, as stocks sank during the most acute phase of a historic global financial crisis.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 4, 2026
But even as Nixon’s overall approval rating sank to 24% during the week before his resignation on Aug. 9, 1974, Republicans — 62% of them — still supported him.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
As their boat took on water and eventually sank, the Coopers and two other sailors aboard the vessel evacuated to a life raft.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
He had only one chance —once it sank down where the water turned black and cold and unreachable, it was gone.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
"It hasn't sunk in," said a shocked Evans, who became the first British world champion in 25 years.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
Meta sunk $14.3 billion into Scale AI, in order to buy Wang into its ecosystem and spearhead its artificial intelligence lab.
From Slate ● Oct. 3, 2026
Southern Command, which oversees American forces in Latin America, said the crews were removed from the vessels and handed over to Ecuador’s authorities before the boats were sunk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
Ecuador's Navy said it received 28 crew members from that vessel and the boat that was sunk on Wednesday.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
Again, Cat pushed and this time it sunk into the fish.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
He’s sinking into himself, creating a protective turtle-like shell against the nettlesome LAPD.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
The extreme heat is driven by a persistent high pressure ridge that has parked over the region causing sinking warming air with very little overnight relief.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
Stagg isn't a traditional war hero, something Scott clearly relished sinking his acting teeth into.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
It added that an unspecified number of individuals aboard the boat had been "safely transferred" to authorities in Ecuador before the sinking, which came a day after a separate US strike.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
The sun dipped low in the sky, sinking behind the trees as Anya came to a shivering stop on the road.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
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.
