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Absorb

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Absorbtion
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ab⋅sorb

  [ab-sawrb, -zawrb]
Use Absorb in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to suck up or drink in (a liquid); soak up: A sponge absorbs water.
2. to swallow up the identity or individuality of; incorporate: 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.
6. to take in without echo, recoil, or reflection: to absorb sound and light; to absorb shock.
7. to take in and utilize: The market absorbed all the computers we could build. Can your brain absorb all this information?
8. to pay for (costs, taxes, etc.): The company will absorb all the research costs.
9. Archaic. to swallow up.
Origin:
1480–90; < L absorbēre, equiv. to ab- ab- + sorbēre to suck in, swallow

Related forms:
ab⋅sorb⋅a⋅ble, adjective
ab⋅sorb⋅a⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, noun

Synonyms:
2. assimilate, consume, devour, engulf; destroy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Absorbtion
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ab·sorb   (əb-sôrb', -zôrb')   
tr.v.   ab·sorbed, ab·sorb·ing, ab·sorbs

  1. To take (something) in through or as through pores or interstices.

  2. To occupy the full attention, interest, or time of; engross. See Synonyms at monopolize.

  3. To retain (radiation or sound, for example) wholly, without reflection or transmission.

  4. To take in; assimilate: immigrants who were absorbed into the social mainstream.

  5. To learn; acquire: "Matisse absorbed the lesson and added to it a new language of color" (Peter Plagen).

  6. To receive (an impulse) without echo or recoil: a fabric that absorbs sound; a bumper that absorbs impact.

  7. To assume or pay for (a cost or costs).

  8. To endure; accommodate: couldn't absorb the additional hardships.

  9. To use up; consume: The project has absorbed all of our department's resources.


[Middle English, to swallow up, from Old French absorber, from Latin absorbēre : ab-, away; see ab-1 + sorbēre, to suck.]
ab·sorb'a·bil'i·ty n., ab·sorb'a·ble adj., ab·sorb'ed·ly adv., ab·sorb'er n., ab·sorb'ing·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

absorb 
1490, from M.Fr. absorber (O.Fr. assorbir), from L. absorbere "to swallow up," from ab- "from" + sorbere "suck in," from PIE base *srebh- "to suck, absorb" (cf. Armenian arbi "I drank," Gk. rhopheo "to sup greedily up, gulp down," Lith. srebiu "to drink greedily"). Absorbent (n.) first recorded 1718. Absorbing in the fig. sense of "very interesting" first recorded 1876.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Financial Dictionary

absorb

To offset sell orders or a new security offering with buy orders.

Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms by David L. Scott.
Copyright © 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: ab·sorb
Function: transitive verb
1 : to make (a right guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution) applicable to the states
2 a : to bear or assume the burden of absorbed by the company> b : to lessen the tax liability for absorb the income —D. Q. Posin>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ab·sorb
Pronunciation: &b-'so(&)rb, -'zo(&)rb
Function: transitive verb
1 : to take up especially by capillary,osmotic, solvent, or chemical action absorbed by the body> absorbs oxygen>
2 : totransform (radiant energy) into a different form usually with a resulting rise in temperature absorbs the other colors of light> —ab·sorb·able /&b-'sor-b&-b&l, -'zor-/ adjective —ab·sorb·er noun
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

absorb ab·sorb (əb-sôrb', -zôrb')
v. ab·sorbed, ab·sorb·ing, ab·sorbs

  1. To take in by absorption.

  2. To reduce the intensity of transmitted light.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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