absorb

Meaning

1. (transitive) To include so that it no longer has separate existence; to overwhelm; to cause to disappear as if by swallowing up; to incorporate; to assimilate; to take in and use up.
2. (obsolete, transitive) To engulf, as in water; to swallow up.
3. (transitive) To suck up; to drink in; to imbibe, like a sponge or as the lacteals of the body; to chemically take in.
4. (intransitive) To be absorbed, or sucked in; to sink in.
5. (transitive) To take in energy and convert it.
6. (transitive) To take in energy and convert it.
7. (transitive) To take in energy and convert it.
8. (transitive) To take in energy and convert it.
9. (transitive) To engross or engage wholly; to occupy fully.
10. (transitive) To occupy or consume time.
11. (transitive) To assimilate mentally.
12. (transitive) To assume or pay for as part of a commercial transaction.
13. (transitive) To defray the costs.
14. (transitive) To accept or purchase in quantity.

Synonyms

take in

assimilate

engross

soak up

imbibe

ingest

suck

suck up

engulf

digest

suck in

occupy

swallow

immerse

incorporate

devour

take over

engage

drink

🥤

drink in

draw in

sop up

preoccupy

plunge

take up

inhale

adopt

draw

annex

be absorbed

have at one’s disposal

attract

take

corner

fascinate

assume

steep

receive

sip

occlude

embrace

permeability

dry up

drown

capture

breathe in

blend in

impress

immersed in

dine

Translations

absorber

absorber

assorbire

absorbieren

absorver

absorberen

aufsaugen

απορροφώ

absorbir

aufnehmen

einsaugen

fesseln

opslorpen

opzuigen

in beslag nemen

Pronounced as (IPA)

/əbˈzɔːb/

Etymology

Cognate with French: absorber

In summary

From Middle French absorber, from Old French assorbir, from Latin absorbeō (“swallow up”), from ab- (“from”) + sorbeō (“suck in, swallow”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *srebʰ- (“to sip”). Compare French absorber.