Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To go below the surface of water or another liquid.
- intransitive verb To descend to the bottom of a body of water or other liquid.
- intransitive verb To fall or drop to a lower level, especially to go down slowly or in stages.
- intransitive verb To subside or settle gradually.
- intransitive verb To appear to move downward, as the sun or moon in setting.
- intransitive verb To slope downward; incline.
- intransitive verb To fall or lower oneself slowly, as from weakness or fatigue.
- intransitive verb To feel great disappointment or discouragement.
- intransitive verb To pass into something; penetrate.
- intransitive verb To steep or soak.
- intransitive verb To pass into a specified condition.
- intransitive verb To deteriorate in quality or condition.
- intransitive verb To diminish, as in value.
- intransitive verb To become weaker, quieter, or less forceful.
- intransitive verb To make an impression; become felt or understood.
- intransitive verb To cause to descend beneath the surface or to the bottom of a liquid.
- intransitive verb To cause to penetrate deeply.
- intransitive verb To force into the ground.
- intransitive verb To dig or drill (a mine or well) in the earth.
- intransitive verb To cause to drop or lower.
- intransitive verb Sports To propel (a ball or shot) into a hole, basket, or pocket.
- intransitive verb To cause to be engrossed.
- intransitive verb To make weaker, quieter, or less forceful.
- intransitive verb To reduce in quantity or worth.
- intransitive verb To debase the nature of; degrade.
- intransitive verb To bring to a low or ruined state; defeat or destroy.
- intransitive verb To suppress or hide.
- intransitive verb Informal To defeat, as in a game.
- intransitive verb To invest or spend, often without getting a return or adequate value.
- intransitive verb To pay off (a debt).
- noun A water basin fixed to a wall or floor and having a drainpipe and generally a piped supply of water.
- noun A cesspool.
- noun A sinkhole.
- noun A natural or artificial means of absorbing or removing a substance or a form of energy from a system.
- noun A place regarded as wicked and corrupt.
- idiom (sink (one's) teeth into) To undertake an endeavor energetically.
- idiom (sink or swim) To fail or succeed without alternative.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In mining: The amount by which the shaft-level is lowered by a blast in sinking operations.
- noun The distance inward, or depth, to which the excavation for a shaft or drift is to be carried.
- noun The lowest point in the shaft, toward which the drainage flows.
- noun In geometry, a place of transition from space of n into space n—1 dimensions.
- noun In electricity, in the theory of the flow of current in plane sheets, a point at which the current leaves the sheet.
- noun A receptacle and conduit for foul liquids; a kennel; a sewer; a drain; a privy.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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I pause after “play,” letting the weight of the word sink in.
A Mountain of Crumbs Elena Gorokhova 2010
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I pause after “play,” letting the weight of the word sink in.
A Mountain of Crumbs Elena Gorokhova 2010
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While brushing at the sink is a step up from brushing at the tub, "we're not there yet" * as the French would say.
French Word-A-Day: 2007
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While brushing at the sink is a step up from brushing at the tub, "we're not there yet" * as the French would say.
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While brushing at the sink is a step up from brushing at the tub, "we're not there yet" * as the French would say.
French Word-A-Day: 2007
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I cut off the stems, slit them open, and take out the seeds (I find shaking them over the sink is the easiest method as the seeds can fly everywhere).
Archive 2006-09-01 Homesick Texan 2006
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I cut off the stems, slit them open, and take out the seeds (I find shaking them over the sink is the easiest method as the seeds can fly everywhere).
A balance of powder | Homesick Texan Homesick Texan 2006
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Beside the sink is a hole to dip out water that is stored in the box.
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I happened one day to be employed in the back kitchen, or what they termed the sink-room, and I soon became aware that I was the subject of conversation by the family in the room adjoining.
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Socrates saw the name sink into Ralphie’s shoulders.
Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned Walter Mosley 1998
sionnach commented on the word sink
This doesn't work for me as a substitute for 'six'; it's too close to the French 'cinq' (five).
May 4, 2008