sunk

[ suhngk ]

/ sʌŋk /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sunk ON THESAURUS.COM

verb

a simple past tense and past participle of sink.

adjective

Informal. beyond help; done for; washed up: If they catch you cheating, you're really sunk.

Nautical. (of a forecastle or poop) raised less than a full deck above the weather deck of a ship.

Nearby words

Origin of sunk

1925–30 for def 2

Related formshalf-sunk, adjectiveun·sunk, adjective

sink

[ singk ]

/ sɪŋk /

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.

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 sunk

And my beloved Zimbabwe has sunk from a promising beacon into an abyss of greed and dictatorship.
How I Got Addicted to Africa (and Wrote a Thriller About It)|Todd Moss|September 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sunk Kathryn Miles, Outside, February 11 The incredible truth about a ship that never should have sailed.
The Daily Beast’s Best Longreads of 2013||December 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
First-time unemployment claims have sunk to levels not seen since 2008.
America is Not the Next Greece|Daniel Gross|October 31, 2013|DAILY BEAST
One time he stood on the dock of a ship and sunk the ship just to feel what it was like to be on a sinking ship.
Dane Dehaan Is Hollywood’s Homicidal Darling|Anna Klassen|October 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST

By then, a Marine mindset had sunk deep in me, whereas they seemed vulnerable, and understandably so.
Send in the Marines—and the Anthropologists too?|John Kael Weston|August 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
His advice, however, sunk deep into my mind, and has often been of singular value to me since.
Parker's Second Reader|Richard G. Parker
Then I was conducted to the boilers, a row of ten, sunk underground in the solid rock, below the level of the shrubbery.
A Month in Yorkshire|Walter White
His soldiers broke into cheers, but he sternly stopped them, with the advice to wait till the Hartford was sunk.
Dewey and Other Naval Commanders|Edward S. Ellis
If all unite to carry this out, small differences of opinion may at once be sunk.
Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian Symbolism|Thomas Inman
Augustine was a wild youth, sunk in vice, and a violent opposer of religion.
A Practical Directory for Young Christian Females|Harvey Newcomb

British Dictionary definitions for sunk

sunk

/ (sʌŋk) /

verb

a past participle of sink

adjective

informal with all hopes dashed; ruinedif the police come while we're opening the safe, we'll be sunk

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 sunk

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.

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 sunk

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 sunk

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

sunk

verb

adjective

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of sunk

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

Origin of sink

Examples from the Web for sunk

sunk

verb

adjective

sink

verb sinks, sinking, sank, sunk or sunken

noun

adjective

Word Origin for sink

sink

sink

sink

sink