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imbibe
5 dictionary results for: imbibe
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
im·bibe       [im-bahyb] Pronunciation Key verb, -bibed, -bib·ing.
–verb (used with object)
1.to consume (liquids) by drinking; drink: He imbibed great quantities of iced tea.
2.to absorb or soak up, as water, light, or heat: Plants imbibe moisture from the soil.
3.to take or receive into the mind, as knowledge, ideas, or the like: to imbibe a sermon; to imbibe beautiful scenery.
–verb (used without object)
4.to drink, esp. alcoholic beverages: Just a soft drink for me—I don't imbibe.
5.to absorb liquid or moisture.
6.Archaic. to soak or saturate; imbue.
[Origin: 1350–1400; < L imbibere to drink in, equiv. to im- im-1 + bibere to drink; r. ME enbiben < MF embiber < L, as above]

—Related forms
im·bib·er, noun

—Synonyms 1. swallow. See drink.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
im·bibe       (ĭm-bīb')  Pronunciation Key 
v.   im·bibed, im·bib·ing, im·bibes

v.   tr.
  1. To drink.
  2. To absorb or take in as if by drinking: "The whole body . . . imbibes delight through every pore" (Henry David Thoreau).
  3. To receive and absorb into the mind: "Gladstone had . . . imbibed a strong prejudice against Americans" (Philip Magnus).
  4. Obsolete To permeate; saturate.

v.   intr.
To drink alcoholic beverages.


[Middle English embiben, to soak up, saturate, from Latin imbibere, to drink in, imbibe : in-, in; see in-2 + bibere, to drink; see pō(i)- in Indo-European roots.]

im·bib'er n.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
imbibe 
c.1386, from O.Fr. embiber "to soak into," from L. imbibere "absorb, drink in, inhale," from in- "in" + bibere "to drink," related to potare "to drink," from PIE *pi-/*po(i)- "to drink (cf. Skt. pati "drinks," panam "beverage;" Gk. pinein "to drink," potos "a drinking;" O.C.S. piti "to drink"). Figurative sense of "mentally drink in" (knowledge, ideas, etc.) was the main one in classical L., first attested in Eng. 1555.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
imbibe

verb
1. take in, also metaphorically; "The sponge absorbs water well"; "She drew strength from the minister's words" [syn: absorb] 
2. take (gas, light or heat) into a solution [syn: assimilate] 
3. take in liquids; "The patient must drink several liters each day"; "The children like to drink soda" [syn: drink] 
4. receive into the mind and retain; "Imbibe ethical principles" 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Imbibe

Im*bibe"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Imbibed; p. pr. & vb. n. Imbibing.] [L. imbibere; pref. im- in + bibere to drink: cf. F. imbiber. Cf. Bib, Imbue, Potable.]

1. To drink in; to absorb; to suck or take in; to receive as by drinking; as, a person imbibes drink, or a sponge imbibes moisture.

2. To receive or absorb into the mind and retain; as, to imbibe principles; to imbibe errors.

3. To saturate; to imbue. [Obs.] "Earth, imbibed with . . . acid." --Sir I. Newton.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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