ABSORB

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does absorb mean? 

• ABSORB (verb)
  The verb ABSORB has 9 senses:

1. become imbued

2. take up mentally

3. take up, as of debts or payments

4. take in, also metaphorically

5. cause to become one with

6. suck or take up or in

7. devote (oneself) fully to

8. assimilate or take in

9. consume all of one's attention or time

  Familiarity information: ABSORB used as a verb is familiar.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ABSORB (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they absorb    ... he / she / it absorbs   
Past simple: absorbed   
Past participle: absorbed   
-ing form: absorbing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Become imbued

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

The liquids, light, and gases absorb

Hypernyms (to "absorb" is one way to...):

sorb; take up (take up a liquid or a gas either by adsorption or by absorption)

Domain category:

chemical science; chemistry (the science of matter; the branch of the natural sciences dealing with the composition of substances and their properties and reactions)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "absorb"):

reabsorb; resorb (undergo resorption)

assimilate; imbibe (take (gas, light or heat) into a solution)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

absorbate (a material that has been or is capable of being absorbed)

absorbent (a material having capacity or tendency to absorb another substance)

absorbent (having power or capacity or tendency to absorb or soak up something (liquids or energy etc.))

absorber ((physics) material in a nuclear reactor that absorbs radiation)

absorption ((chemistry) a process in which one substance permeates another; a fluid permeates or is dissolved by a liquid or solid)

absorptive (having power or capacity or tendency to absorb or soak up something (liquids or energy etc.))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Take up mentally

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

absorb; assimilate; ingest; take in

Context example:

he absorbed the knowledge or beliefs of his tribe

Hypernyms (to "absorb" is one way to...):

acquire; larn; learn (gain knowledge or skills)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "absorb"):

imbibe (receive into the mind and retain)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

absorption (the social process of absorbing one cultural group into harmony with another)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Take up, as of debts or payments

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

absorb; take over

Context example:

absorb the costs for something

Hypernyms (to "absorb" is one way to...):

fund (furnish money for)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 4

Meaning:

Take in, also metaphorically

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

absorb; draw; imbibe; soak up; sop up; suck; suck up; take in; take up

Context example:

She drew strength from the minister's words

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "absorb"):

mop; mop up; wipe up (to wash or wipe with or as if with a mop)

blot (dry (ink) with blotting paper)

sponge up (absorb as if with a sponge)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

absorber ((physics) material in a nuclear reactor that absorbs radiation)

absorption ((chemistry) a process in which one substance permeates another; a fluid permeates or is dissolved by a liquid or solid)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Cause to become one with

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

The sales tax is absorbed into the state income tax

Hypernyms (to "absorb" is one way to...):

blend; coalesce; combine; commingle; conflate; flux; fuse; immix; meld; merge; mix (mix together different elements)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sense 6

Meaning:

Suck or take up or in

Classified under:

Verbs of raining, snowing, thawing, thundering

Synonyms:

absorb; take in

Context example:

A black star absorbs all matter

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "absorb"):

suck; suck in (attract by using an inexorable force, inducement, etc.)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Antonym:

emit (give off, send forth, or discharge; as of light, heat, or radiation, vapor, etc.)

Derivation:

absorbable (capable of being absorbed or taken in through the pores of a surface)

absorbent (having power or capacity or tendency to absorb or soak up something (liquids or energy etc.))

absorption ((physics) the process in which incident radiated energy is retained without reflection or transmission on passing through a medium)

absorptive (having power or capacity or tendency to absorb or soak up something (liquids or energy etc.))

Sense 7

Meaning:

Devote (oneself) fully to

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

absorb; engross; engulf; immerse; plunge; soak up; steep

Context example:

He immersed himself into his studies

Hypernyms (to "absorb" is one way to...):

center; centre; concentrate; focus; pore; rivet (direct one's attention on something)

Verb group:

immerse; plunge (cause to be immersed)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "absorb"):

drink; drink in (be fascinated or spell-bound by; pay close attention to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody PP

Derivation:

absorption (complete attention; intense mental effort)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Assimilate or take in

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

The immigrants were quickly absorbed into society

Hypernyms (to "absorb" is one way to...):

invite; receive; take in (express willingness to have in one's home or environs)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sense 9

Meaning:

Consume all of one's attention or time

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

absorb; engage; engross; occupy

Context example:

Her interest in butterflies absorbs her completely

Hypernyms (to "absorb" is one way to...):

interest (excite the curiosity of; engage the interest of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "absorb"):

involve (occupy or engage the interest of)

consume (engage fully)

rivet (hold (someone's attention))

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The performance is likely to absorb Sue

Derivation:

absorption (the mental state of being preoccupied by something)

 Context examples 

The new research published by NOAA and international partners finds as carbon dioxide emissions have increased in the atmosphere, the ocean has absorbed a greater volume of emissions.

(Global ocean is absorbing more carbon from fossil fuel emissions, NOAA)

Upon oral administration, DHP107 forms droplets and micelles in the intestine; these adhere to mucoepithelial cells in the gastrointestinal tract and are absorbed through lipid-based uptake mechanisms.

(Mucoadhesive Paclitaxel Formulation, NCI Thesaurus)

Jane's curiosity did not appear of that absorbing nature as wholly to occupy her.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

In upconversion, low-energy photons are absorbed and converted into one photon with higher energy.

(Tiny, biocompatible laser could function inside living tissues, National Science Foundation)

A new study in Ecology Letters finds that some coastal birds survive because their populations can absorb impacts and recover quickly — even from storms many times larger than those previously observed.

(Coastal birds can weather the storm, but not the sea, National Science Foundation)

Compared to acarbose, miglitol is systemically absorbed.

(Miglitol, NCI Thesaurus)

It is possible that as pressure builds in cracks and pores in boulders where absorbed water is released, the surface could become agitated, causing particles to erupt.

(NASA's OSIRIS-REx Explains Bennu Mystery Particles, NASA)

The droughtlike conditions that exist in heat waves reduce soil moisture, making near-surface temperatures hotter and inhibiting the role played by vegetation in absorbing ozone, resulting in lower air quality.

(Dangers of Concurrent Heat Waves, Air Pollution, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Perchlorate identified in Martian soil by the Curiosity mission, has properties of absorbing water vapor from the atmosphere and lowering the freezing temperature of water.

(Mars Rover's Weather Data Bolster Case for Brine, NASA)

The formation of a stratosphere layer in a planet’s atmosphere is attributed to sunscreen-like molecules, which absorb UV and visible radiation coming from the star and then release that energy as heat.

(WASP-18b Has Smothering Stratosphere Without Water, NASA)