SINK | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary
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English (US)

Meaning of sink in English

sink
verb
us
/sɪŋk/ uk
/sɪŋk/
sank or US also sunk | sunk

sink verb (GO DOWN BELOW)

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B1 [ I or T ]
to (cause something or someone to) go down below the surface or to the bottom of a liquid or soft substance:
The Titanic was a passenger ship which sank (to the bottom of the ocean) in 1912.
The legs of the garden chair sank into the soft ground.
Enemy aircraft sank two battleships.
The dog sank her teeth into (= bit) the ball and ran off with it.
Related word
sunken
More examplesFewer examples
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Staying afloat, capsizing & sinking
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sink verb (FALL)

B2 [ I ]
to (cause something or someone to) fall or move to a lower level:
The sun glowed red as it sank slowly below the horizon.
Student numbers have sunk considerably this year.
UK informal We sank (= drank) a bottle of wine each last night.
The wounded soldier sank (= fell) to the ground.
She sank back in her chair and closed her eyes.
He sank into deep despair (= became very unhappy) when he lost his job.
[ T ]
to hit a ball into a hole or pocket, especially in golf or pool
More examplesFewer examples
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Moving downward
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

sink verb (DIG)

[ T ]
to dig a hole in the ground, or to put something into a hole dug into the ground:
Sinking more wells is the best way of supplying the population with clean drinking water.
The first stage of building the fence is sinking the posts into the ground.
See also
sunken
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Digging
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sink verb (FAILURE)

[ T ]
to cause something to fail or be in trouble:
This rain could sink our plans for the barbecue.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Destroying and demolishing
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Idioms

sink your differences
sink like a stone
sink or swim
sink to a whisper
sink to such a level/such depths
sink without a trace
sinking fast
sinking feeling
sinking ship

Phrasal verbs

sink in
sink in/sink into something
sink into something
sink something into something
sink
noun [ C ]
us
/sɪŋk/ uk
/sɪŋk/
A2
a bowl that is attached to the wall in a kitchen or bathroom in which you wash dishes or your hands, etc.:
a bathroom/kitchen sink
 
Image Source/GettyImages
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SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Washing the dishes

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
(Definition of sink from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

sink | Intermediate English

sink
verb
us
/sɪŋk/
past tense sank us/sæŋk/ sunk us/sʌŋk/ | past participle sunk us/sʌŋk/

sink verb (GO BELOW WATER)

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[ I/T ]
to move below the surface of water:
[ I ] The boat filled with water and began to sink.
[ T ] It isn’t clear exactly what sank the ship.

sink verb (FALL)

[ I/T ]
to fall or move to a lower level:
[ I ] The sun sank slowly below the horizon.
[ I ] Exhausted after the race, she sank to the ground.
[ I ] My feet sink into the sand with every step.
[ I ] Gasoline prices sank last year.
[ I ] Relations between the countries have sunk to a new low.
[ I/T ]
To sink a ball is to hit it into a hole, as in golf and pool, or throw it through a hoop (= ring with a net) in basketball.
sink their teeth into
People or animals who sink their teeth into something bite hard:
I sank my teeth into the sandwich.

sink verb (DESTROY)

[ T ]
to cause something to fail:
A price war sank the company.
I thought these issues would sink his career.

Idioms

sink or swim
sink your teeth into something

Phrasal verbs

sink back
sink in
sink in
sink into something
sink into something
sink into something
sink something into something
sink
noun [ C ]
us
/sɪŋk/

sink noun [C] (CONTAINER)

a container for water in a kitchen or bathroom used for washing and connected to pipes that bring and carry off water
(Definition of sink from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

sink | Business English

sink
verb
uk
/sɪŋk/ us
sank | sunk
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[ I ]
if prices, profits, shares, etc. sink, they fall to a lower level:
Bond prices sank and stocks rose today.
sink to sth The dollar sank to a record low against the euro.
Shares sank 3% Wednesday to close at $39.35.
[ I or T ]
to go under, or cause something to go under, the surface of the water:
The tanker sank off the coast of Alaska.
The explosion sank the ship in 300 feet of water.

Phrasal verb

sink sth into sth
(Definition of sink from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of sink

sink
Don't worry, they will absorb the water and sink in a few hours, but to start you need to submerge them.
From The Atlantic
Early the sun sank down in western skies?
From Huffington Post
Once you let that sink in, though, you can absorb the craziest part of the trilogy: the characters' names.
From Slate Magazine
The sinks are almost a foot higher than normal.
From New York Daily News
He also spoke of how man can sometimes "fall to the lowest, vulgar levels" and "sink into the swamp of sin and dishonesty".
From New York Daily News
I would rather sink a steamboat than eat, any time.
From Huffington Post
But asked if she deserves to be in prison, the teenager sinks her face into her hands.
From CNN
Even though merchant vessels didn't have a combat mission, many were attacked and 733 were sunk.
From OregonLive.com
Isn't a sink usually thought of as something absorbing carbon from the atmosphere?
From ThinkProgress
Inflation-adjusted pay has sunk in five of the past seven years, underscoring the pressures households felt even before the recession.
From Plain Dealer
A particular narrative has sunk its teeth into mass media -- the myth of the coddled college student.
From Huffington Post
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
What is the pronunciation of sink?
 

Translations of sink

in Chinese (Traditional)
沈沒, （使）沈沒, （使）陷入…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
沉没, （使）沉没, （使）陷入…
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in Spanish
hundir, dejar, caer…
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in Portuguese
cair com toda a força, afundar, pia…
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बुडणे, बुडवणे, अस्त होणे…
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沈む（める）, 沈没する（させる）, 埋まる…
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batmak, batırmak, yavaş yavaş batmak…
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couler, s’enfoncer, tomber…
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enfonsar(-se), deixar(-se) caure, aclofar-se…
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zinken, dalen, (doen) doordringen…
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(ஏதாவது அல்லது யாரோ ஒருவரின் காரணமாக) மேற்பரப்புக்கு கீழே அல்லது ஒரு திரவ அல்லது மென்மையான பொருளின் அடிப்பகுதிக்குச் செல்லுதல், (ஏதாவது அல்லது யாராவது ஏற்படுத்த) வீழ்ச்சி அடைய அல்லது கீழ் நிலைக்கு செல்ல, ஒரு சமையலறை அல்லது குளியலறையில் சுவரில் இணைக்கப்பட்டுள்ள ஒரு கோப்பை…
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डूबना, डुबोना, (नीचे की ओर) छिपना…
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ડૂબવું, પડવું (નીચે), સિન્ક…
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synke, gå ned, sænke sig…
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sjunka, sänka, sänka sig…
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karam, tenggelam, membenamkan…
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versenken, sinken, sich senken…
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synke, senke, legge seg…
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ڈوبنا, ڈبونا, غرق ہونا…
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тонути, іти на дно, опускати(ся)…
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тонуть, топить, утопать…
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మునగడం, కుంగి పోవు / (ఏదైనా లేదా ఎవరినైనా పడిపోయేలా దిగువ స్థాయికి వెళ్లిపోయేలా చేయు) పడిపోవు లేదా దిగువ స్థాయికి వెళ్లిపోవు, వంటింటి/స్నానాలగది సింకు…
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يَغْرَق, يَغوص, حَوْض المَغْسَلة…
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ডুবে যাওয়া, পড়ে যাওয়া, বেসিন…
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potopit (se), klesat, vsáknout se…
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menenggelamkan, terbenam, membenamkan…
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จม, ตกลง, ซึมลง…
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chìm, lặn xuống dưới chân trời, xuyên vào…
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zatonąć, zatapiać, zatapiać (się)…
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(물 속으로)가라앉다, (부드러운 것 안으로)가라앉다, 싱크대…
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(far) affondare, sprofondarsi, sprofondare…
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singularity
singularly
sinister
sinisterly
sink
sink back
sink in
sink in/sink into something
sink into something
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