absorb

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[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

15th Century, from Old French from Latin absorbeō from ab- (from), + sorbeō (suck in). Compare French absorber.

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Verb

Infinitive
to absorb

Third person singular
absorbs

Simple past
absorbed

Past participle
absorbed

Present participle
absorbing

to absorb (third-person singular simple present absorbs, present participle absorbing, simple past and past participle absorbed)

  1. (transitive) To include so that it no longer has separate existence; to swallow up; to engulf; to overwhelm; to cause to disappear as if by swallowing up; to use up; to incorporate; to assimilate.
  2. (transitive) To suck up; to drink in; to imbibe; as a sponge or as the lacteals of the body. - Francis Bacon
  3. (transitive) To learn
  4. (transitive) To engross or engage wholly; to occupy fully; as, absorbed in study or in the pursuit of wealth.
  5. (transitive) To consume completely.
  6. (transitive) To endure.
  7. (transitive) (physics) To take up by chemical or physical action.
    Heat, light, and electricity are absorbed in the substances into which they pass.
  8. (transitive, business) To assume or pay for as part of a commercial transaction.

[edit] Synonyms

to take in

[edit] Antonyms

  • (physics: to take up by chemical or physical action): emit

[edit] Derived terms

[edit] Translations

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[edit] Anagrams