soak
[sohk]
- to lie in and become saturated or permeated with water or some other liquid.
- to pass, as a liquid, through pores, holes, or the like: The rain soaked through the tear in the umbrella.
- to be thoroughly wet.
- to penetrate or become known to the mind or feelings (followed by in): The lesson didn't soak in.
- Informal. to drink immoderately, especially alcoholic beverages: They were soaking at the bar.
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- to place or keep in liquid in order to saturate thoroughly; steep.
- to wet thoroughly; saturate or drench.
- to permeate thoroughly, as liquid or moisture does.
- Metallurgy. to heat (a piece) for reworking.
- Informal. to intoxicate (oneself) by drinking an excess of liquor.
- Slang. to beat hard; punish severely: I was soaked for that mistake.
- to extract or remove by or as by soaking (often followed by out): to soak a stain out of a napkin.
- Slang. to overcharge: He was soaked by the waiter.
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- the act or state of soaking or the state of being soaked.
- the liquid in which anything is soaked.
- Slang. a heavy drinker.
- 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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- soak up,
- to absorb or take in or up by absorption: Blotting paper soaks up ink.
- to absorb with one's mind or senses; take in: to soak up information.
- Slang.to drink to excess: He can really soak up the booze.
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Origin of soak
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comAntonyms
7. dry.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
bathemoistendrinkimmersemarinatesteepsaturatefloodsoftenwashdrownsubmergeabsorbpenetratedipdunkpermeatesouseimpregnatemergeExamples from the Web for soak
Contemporary Examples
Spring is starting to arrive, and we plan to soak up as much sun as our vitamin-D-deficient bodies can handle.
It had a festive air last Sunday as residents flooded into the spotlessly clean park to soak up the first rays of spring.
First, soak in this description of Christmas Pie, a traditional British dish that makes a Turducken seem modest.
We say goodbye to Romain and head to a sandwich shop nearby to soak up some of the alcohol.
The rough edges of the lobster will help it soak up the other flavors.
Historical Examples
It's Bill that bled me, and bled me until I've had to soak a mortgage on the ranch.
Way of the LawlessMax Brand
Soak the beans overnight and then parboil them in soda water.
Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 2Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences
Such inelastic lessons, given time to soak in, were sobering.
DustMr. and Mrs. Haldeman-Julius
A smoked tongue should soak in cold water at least all night.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various BranchesEliza Leslie
Then soak it in cold water for a quarter of an hour, or more.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various BranchesEliza Leslie
soak
- to make, become, or be thoroughly wet or saturated, esp by immersion in a liquid
- (when intr, usually foll by in or into) (of a liquid) to penetrate or permeate
- (tr; usually foll by in or up) (of a permeable solid) to take in (a liquid) by absorptionthe earth soaks up rainwater
- (tr; foll by out or out of) to remove by immersion in a liquidshe soaked the stains out of the dress
- (tr) metallurgy to heat (a metal) prior to working
- informal to drink excessively or make or become drunk
- (tr) US and Canadian slang to overcharge
- (tr) British slang to put in pawn
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- the act of immersing in a liquid or the period of immersion
- the liquid in which something may be soaked, esp a solution containing detergent
- another name for soakage (def. 3)
- British informal a heavy rainfall
- slang a person who drinks to excess
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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