| 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. |
ab·sorb (əb-sôrb', -zôrb') tr.v. ab·sorbed, ab·sorb·ing, ab·sorbs
[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. |
Absorbed
1. In a general business sense, when a cost is treated as an expense instead of being passed on to the customer in the form of higher prices.
2. In underwriting, when an issue has been completely sold to the public.
3. In mergers, when an acquired firm is folded into the acquiring company.
Investopedia Commentary
The meaning of "absorbed" is similar to the non-financial definition of the term.
See also: Direct Cost, Expense, Explicit Cost, Merger
absorb
absorb ab·sorb (əb-sôrb', -zôrb')
v. ab·sorbed, ab·sorb·ing, ab·sorbs
To take in by absorption.
To reduce the intensity of transmitted light.