absorb

present singular third person absorbs · participle present absorbing · participle past absorbed · past absorbed · archaic participle past absorpt · archaic past absorpt · first person past singular absorbed · archaic present second person singular absorbest · past second person singular absorbed · archaic past second person singular absorbedst · present singular third person absorbs · archaic present singular third person absorbeth · past singular third person absorbed · past plural absorbed · past subjunctive absorbed · participle present absorbing

1. transitiveTo 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.First known use first attested c. 1350 to 1470.

   Dark oblivion soon absorbs them all.

   1782, William Cowper, On Observing some Names of Little Note

   3 more examples

   In some countries, the large cities absorb the wealth and fashion of the nation; they are the only fixed abodes of elegant and intelligent society, and the country is inhabited almost entirely by boorish peasantry.

   1819 July 31, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “Rural Life in England”, in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., number II, New York, N.Y.: […] C[ornelius] S. Van Winkle, […], →OCLC, page 124

   As a microbullet impacts the graphene, the diameter of the cone it creates – determined by later examination of the petals – provides a way to measure how much energy the graphene absorbs before breaking.

   2014 December 1, Mike Williams, “Microbullet hits confirm graphene’s strength”, in Rice University

   Wages absorbed 80% of the total revenue (which was inescapable), and they were rising at almost twice the rate of fares, which were pegged by law.

   2023 March 8, Howard Johnston, “Was Marples the real railway wrecker?”, in RAIL, number 978, page 51

   Synonyms: assimilate, engulf, incorporate, swallow up, overwhelm

2. obsoletetransitiveTo engulf, as in water; to swallow up.First known use Attested from the late 15th century until the late 18th century.

   to be absorpt, or swallowed up, in a lake of fire and brimstone.

   1684-1690, Thomas Burnet, The Sacred Theory of the Earth

3. transitiveTo suck up; to drink in; to imbibe, like a sponge or as the lacteals of the body; to chemically take in.First known use first attested in the early 17th century.

   Synonyms: draw, drink in, imbibe, soak up, sop up, suck, suck up, steep

4. intransitiveTo be absorbed, or sucked in; to sink in.

   The drops of water slowly absorbed into the dry sponge.

5. transitivechemistryTo take in energy and convert it.First known use first attested in the early 18th century.

   Heat, light, and electricity are absorbed in the substances into which they pass.

   1. transitivechemistryin receiving a physical impact or vibration without recoil.
   2. transitivechemistryin receiving sound energy without repercussion or echo.
   3. transitivechemistrytaking in radiant energy and converting it to a different form of energy, like heat.
6. transitiveTo engross or engage wholly; to occupy fully.First known use first attested in the late 18th century.

   Livonian affairs held him tight, and were to absorb him for many a year.

   1904, Kazimierz Waliszewski, translated by Lady Mary Loyd, Ivan the Terrible, Part 2 Chapter 3

   1 more example

   Geeka was cooking dinner. As the little girl played she prattled continuously to her companion, propped in a sitting position with a couple of twigs. She was totally absorbed in the domestic duties of Geeka – so much so that she did not note the gentle swaying of the branches of the tree above her as they bent to the body of the creature that had entered them stealthily from the jungle.

   1915 December 4 – 1916 January 8, Edgar Rice Burroughs, chapter VIII, in The Son of Tarzan, Chicago, Ill.: A[lexander] C[aldwell] McClurg & Co., published March 1917, →OCLC, page 103

   Synonyms: engage, engross, immerse, monopolize, occupy

7. transitiveTo occupy or consume time.First known use first attested in the mid 19th century.

   Synonyms: use up

8. transitiveTo assimilate mentally.First known use first attested in the late 19th century.

   If we fail to absorb the lessons of history, we are doomed to repeat them.

9. transitivebusinessTo assume or pay for as part of a commercial transaction.

   Among the most debatable is the contention that the profit margins of small employers are insufficient to absorb the costs of health insurance

   2006, Gunnar Almgren, Health Care Politics, Policy, and Services: A Social Justice Analysis

   Synonyms: assume

10. transitiveTo defray the costs.

    I’ll absorb the charge for the window replacement.

    Synonyms: eat

11. transitiveTo accept or purchase in quantity.