Definition of 'absorb'
Word forms: 3rd person singular present tense absorbs
, present participle absorbing
, past tense, past participle absorbed
3. verb
If a group is absorbed into a larger group, it becomes part of the larger group.
5. verb
6. verb
If something absorbs something valuable such as money, space, or time, it uses up a great deal of it.
7. verb
8. verb
If something absorbs you, it interests you a great deal and takes up all your attention and energy.
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
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Word Frequency
absorb in British English
verb (transitive)
3.
to receive or take in (the energy of an impact)
4. physics
to take in (all or part of incident radiated energy) and retain the part that is not reflected or transmitted
5.
to take in or assimilate; incorporate
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
absorbability (abˌsorbaˈbility) noun
absorbable (abˈsorbable)
adjective
Word origin
C15: via Old French from Latin absorbēre to suck, swallow, from ab-1 + sorbēre to suck
Word Frequency
absorb in American English
verb transitive
1.
to suck up
blotting paper absorbs ink
2.
to take up the full attention or energy of; engross
3.
to take in and incorporate; assimilate
6.
to take in and not reflect (light, sound, etc.)
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
absorbability (abˌsorbaˈbility)
noun
absorbable (abˈsorbable)
adjective
absorber (abˈsorber)
noun
Word Frequency
absorb in American English
(æbˈsɔrb, -ˈzɔrb)
transitive verb
SYNONYMS 2. assimilate, consume, devour, engulf; destroy.1.
to suck up or drink in (a liquid); soak up
A sponge absorbs water
2.
The empire absorbed many small nations
3.
to involve the full attention of; to engross or engage wholly
so absorbed in a book that he did not hear the bell
4.
to occupy or fill
This job absorbs all of my time
5.
to take up or receive by chemical or molecular action
Carbonic acid is formed when water absorbs carbon dioxide
7.
to take in and utilize
The market absorbed all the computers we could build
Can your brain absorb all this information?
9. archaic
to swallow up
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
absorbable adjective
absorbability
noun
Word origin
[1480–90; ‹ L absorbēre, equiv. to ab- ab- + sorbēre to suck in, swallow]Examples of 'absorb' in a sentence
absorb
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absorb carbon dioxide
absorb heat
absorb liquid
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absorb
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In other languages
absorb
British English: absorb
VERB /əbˈzɔːb/
If something absorbs a liquid, gas, or other substance, it soaks it up or takes it in.
Plants absorb carbon dioxide from the air and moisture from the soil.
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Definition of absorb from the Collins English Dictionary
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