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soak

[sohk]
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verb (used without object)
  1. to lie in and become saturated or permeated with water or some other liquid.
  2. to pass, as a liquid, through pores, holes, or the like: The rain soaked through the tear in the umbrella.
  3. to be thoroughly wet.
  4. to penetrate or become known to the mind or feelings (followed by in): The lesson didn't soak in.
  5. Informal. to drink immoderately, especially alcoholic beverages: They were soaking at the bar.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to place or keep in liquid in order to saturate thoroughly; steep.
  2. to wet thoroughly; saturate or drench.
  3. to permeate thoroughly, as liquid or moisture does.
  4. Metallurgy. to heat (a piece) for reworking.
  5. Informal. to intoxicate (oneself) by drinking an excess of liquor.
  6. Slang. to beat hard; punish severely: I was soaked for that mistake.
  7. to extract or remove by or as by soaking (often followed by out): to soak a stain out of a napkin.
  8. Slang. to overcharge: He was soaked by the waiter.
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noun
  1. the act or state of soaking or the state of being soaked.
  2. the liquid in which anything is soaked.
  3. Slang. a heavy drinker.
  4. Australian. any small area of land, as near a spring or at the foot of a hill, that becomes swamplike or holds water after a period of heavy rain.
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Verb Phrases
  1. soak up,
    1. to absorb or take in or up by absorption: Blotting paper soaks up ink.
    2. to absorb with one's mind or senses; take in: to soak up information.
    3. Slang.to drink to excess: He can really soak up the booze.
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Origin of soak

before 1000; Middle English soken, Old English sōcian; akin to suck
Related formssoak·er, nounsoak·ing·ly, adverbo·ver·soak, verbre·soak, verbun·soaked, adjectivewell-soaked, adjective

Synonyms

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2, 4. seep. 7. See wet. 8. infuse, penetrate.

Antonyms

7. dry.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

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British Dictionary definitions for soak

soak

verb
  1. to make, become, or be thoroughly wet or saturated, esp by immersion in a liquid
  2. (when intr, usually foll by in or into) (of a liquid) to penetrate or permeate
  3. (tr; usually foll by in or up) (of a permeable solid) to take in (a liquid) by absorptionthe earth soaks up rainwater
  4. (tr; foll by out or out of) to remove by immersion in a liquidshe soaked the stains out of the dress
  5. (tr) metallurgy to heat (a metal) prior to working
  6. informal to drink excessively or make or become drunk
  7. (tr) US and Canadian slang to overcharge
  8. (tr) British slang to put in pawn
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noun
  1. the act of immersing in a liquid or the period of immersion
  2. the liquid in which something may be soaked, esp a solution containing detergent
  3. another name for soakage (def. 3)
  4. British informal a heavy rainfall
  5. slang a person who drinks to excess
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Derived Formssoaker, nounsoaking, noun, adjective

Word Origin

Old English sōcian to cook; see suck
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 soak

v.

Old English socian (intransitive) "to soak, to lie in liquid," from Proto-Germanic *sukon (cf. West Flemish soken), possibly from PIE *sug-, from root *seue- (2) "to take liquid" (see sup (v.2)). Transitive sense "drench, permeate thoroughly" is from mid-14c.; that of "cause to lie in liquid" is from early 15c. Meaning "take up by absorption" is from 1550s. Slang meaning "to overcharge" first recorded 1895. Related: Soaked; soaking. As a noun, mid-15c., from the verb.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper