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Sink

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13 dictionary results for: sink

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

sink

[singk] Pronunciation Key verb, sank or, often, sunk; sunk or sunk·en; sink·ing; noun

–verb (used without object)

to displace part of the volume of a supporting substance or object and become totally or partially submerged or enveloped; fall or descend into or below the surface or to the bottom (often fol. by in or into): The battleship sank within two hours. His foot sank in the mud. Her head sinks into the pillows.

2.	to fall, drop, or descend gradually to a lower level: The river sank two feet during the dry spell.

3.	to settle or fall gradually, as a heavy structure: The tower is slowly sinking.

4.	to fall or collapse slowly from weakness, fatigue, distress, etc.: He gasped and sank to his knees.

5.	to slope downward; dip: The field sinks toward the highway.

6.	to go down toward or below the horizon: the sun sinks in the west.

7.	to penetrate, permeate, or seep (usually fol. by in or into): Wipe the oil off before it sinks into the wood.

8.	to become engulfed or absorbed in or gradually to enter a state (usually fol. by in or into): to sink into slumber.

9.	to be or become deeply absorbed or involved in a mood or mental state (usually fol. by in or into): sunk in thought. She sank into despair.

10.	to pass or fall into some lower state, as of fortune, estimation, etc.; degenerate: to sink into poverty.

11.	to decline or deteriorate in quality or worth.

12.	to fail in physical strength or health.

13.	to decrease in amount, extent, intensity, etc.: The temperature sank to 30° at noon.

14.	to become lower in volume, tone, or pitch: Her voice sank to a whisper.

15.	to enter or permeate the mind; become known or understood (usually fol. by in or into): He said it four times before the words really sank in.

16.	to become concave; become hollow, as the cheeks.

17.	to drop or fall gradually into a lower position: He sank down on the bench.

–verb (used with object)

18.	to cause to become submerged or enveloped; force into or below the surface; cause to plunge in or down: The submarine sank the battleship. He sank his fist into the pillow.

19.	to cause to fall, drop, or descend gradually.

20.	to cause to penetrate: to sink an ax into a tree trunk.

21.	to lower or depress the level of: They sank the roadway by five feet.

22.	to bury, plant, or lay (a pipe, conduit, etc.) into or as if into the ground.

23.	to dig, bore, or excavate (a hole, shaft, well, etc.).

24.	to bring to a worse or lower state or status.

25.	to bring to utter ruin or collapse: Drinking and gambling sank him completely.

26.	to reduce in amount, extent, intensity, etc.

27.	to lower in volume, tone, or pitch.

28.	to suppress; ignore; omit.

29.	to invest in the hope of making a profit or gaining some other return: He sank all his efforts into the business.

30.	to lose (money) in an unfortunate investment, enterprise, etc.

31.

Sports.

a.	to throw, shoot, hit, or propel (a ball) so that it goes through or into the basket, hole, pocket, etc.: She sank the 10 ball into the side pocket.

b.	to execute (a stroke or throw) so that the ball goes through or into the basket, hole, pocket, etc.: to sink a putt; to sink a free throw.

–noun

32.	a basin or receptacle, as in a kitchen or laundry, usually connected with a water supply and drainage system, for washing dishes, clothing, etc.

33.	a low-lying, poorly drained area where waters collect and sink into the ground or evaporate.

34.	sinkhole (def. 2).

35.	a place of vice or corruption.

36.	a drain or sewer.

37.	a device or place for disposing of energy within a system, as a power-consuming device in an electrical circuit or a condenser in a steam engine.

38.	any pond or pit for sewage or waste, as a cesspool or a pool for industrial wastes.

39.	any natural process by which contaminants are removed from the atmosphere.

—Idiom

40.

sink one's teeth into,

a.	to bite deeply or vigorously.

b.	to do or enter into with great enthusiasm, concentration, conviction, etc.: to sink my teeth into solving the problem.

[Origin: bef. 1000; (v.) ME sinken, OE sincan; c. D zinken, G sinken, ON sǫkkva, Goth singkwan; (n.) late ME: cesspool, deriv. of the v.

]

—Related forms

sink·a·ble, adjective

sinklike, adjective

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

sink   (sĭngk) Pronunciation Key
v.   sank (sāngk) or sunk (sŭngk), sunk, sink·ing, sinks

v.   intr.

To descend to the bottom; submerge.
1. To fall or drop to a lower level, especially to go down slowly or in stages: The water in the lake sank several feet during the long, dry summer.
2. To subside or settle gradually, as a massive or weighty structure.
3. To deteriorate in quality or condition: The patient is sinking fast. The family sank into a state of disgrace.
4. To diminish, as in value.
5. To drop or fall slowly, as from weakness or fatigue: The exhausted runner sank to the ground.
6. To feel great disappointment or discouragement: Her heart sank within her.
To appear to move downward, as the sun or moon in setting.
To slope downward; incline.
To pass into a specified condition: She sank into a deep sleep.
1. To deteriorate in quality or condition: The patient is sinking fast. The family sank into a state of disgrace.
2. To diminish, as in value.
3. To drop or fall slowly, as from weakness or fatigue: The exhausted runner sank to the ground.
4. To feel great disappointment or discouragement: Her heart sank within her.
To become weaker, quieter, or less forceful: His voice sank to a whisper.
1. To drop or fall slowly, as from weakness or fatigue: The exhausted runner sank to the ground.
2. To feel great disappointment or discouragement: Her heart sank within her.
To seep or soak; penetrate: The water is sinking into the ground.
To make an impression; become felt or understood: The meaning finally sank in.

v. tr.

To cause to descend beneath a surface: sink a ship.
To cause to drop or lower: sank the bucket into the well.
To force into the ground: sink a piling.
To dig or drill (a mine or well) in the earth.
To occupy the full attention of; engross.
1. To make weaker, quieter, or less forceful.
2. To reduce in quantity or worth.
3. To invest: sink money into a new housing project.
4. To invest without any prospect of return.
To debase the nature of; degrade.
To bring to a low or ruined state; defeat or destroy.
To suppress or hide: He sank his arrogance and apologized.
Informal To defeat, as in a game.
1. To invest: sink money into a new housing project.
2. To invest without any prospect of return.
To pay off (a debt).
Sports To get (a ball) into a hole or basket.

A water basin fixed to a wall or floor and having a drainpipe and generally a piped supply of water.
A cesspool.
A sinkhole.
A natural or artificial means of absorbing or removing a substance or a form of energy from a system.
A place regarded as wicked and corrupt.

[Middle English sinken, from Old English sincan.]

sink'a·ble adj.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)
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
sink (v.)

O.E. sincan "become submerged, go under" (past tense sanc, pp. suncen), from P.Gmc. *senkwanan (cf. O.S. sinkan, O.N. sökkva, M.Du. sinken, Du. zinken, O.H.G. sinkan, Ger. sinken, Goth. sigqan), from PIE base *sengw- "to sink." The transitive use supplants M.E. sench (cf. drink/drench) which died out 14c. Sinking fund is from 1724; sinker in fishing line sense is from 1844. Adjective phrase sink or swim is from 1668. To sink without a trace is WWI military jargon, transl. Ger. spurlos versenkt.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
sink (n.)

1413, "pool or pit for wastewater or sewage," from sink (v.). Sense of "shallow basin with drainpipe" first recorded 1566.

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

sink
noun
1.	plumbing fixture consisting of a water basin fixed to a wall or floor and having a drainpipe
2.	(technology) a process that acts to absorb or remove energy or a substance from a system; "the ocean is a sink for carbon dioxide" [ant: source]
3.	a depression in the ground communicating with a subterranean passage (especially in limestone) and formed by solution or by collapse of a cavern roof [syn: sinkhole]
4.	a covered cistern; waste water and sewage flow into it [syn: cesspool]
verb
1.	fall or descend to a lower place or level; "He sank to his knees"
2.	cause to sink; "The Japanese sank American ships in Pearl Harbor"
3.	pass into a specified state or condition; "He sank into nirvana"
4.	go under, "The raft sank and its occupants drowned" [ant: float]
5.	descend into or as if into some soft substance or place; "He sank into bed"; "She subsided into the chair"
6.	appear to move downward; "The sun dipped below the horizon"; "The setting sun sank below the tree line" [syn: dip]
7.	fall heavily or suddenly; decline markedly; "The real estate market fell off" [syn: slump]
8.	fall or sink heavily; "He slumped onto the couch"; "My spirits sank" [syn: slump]
9.	embed deeply; "She sank her fingers into the soft sand"; "He buried his head in her lap" [syn: bury]

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American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

sink

In addition to the idioms beginning with sink, also see desert a sinking ship; enough to sink a ship; everything but the kitchen sink; heart sinks.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

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The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

sink (sĭngk) Pronunciation Key

A part of the physical environment, or more generally any physical system, that absorbs some form of matter or energy. For example, a forest acts as a sink for carbon dioxide because it absorbs more of the gas in photosynthesis than it releases in respiration. Coral reefs are a long-lasting sink for carbon, which they sequester in their skeletons in the form of calcium carbonate.
Geology
1. See playa.
2. See sinkhole.
3. A circular depression on the flank of a volcano, caused by the collapse of a volcanic wall.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Sink

Sink\ (s[i^][ng]k), n. The lowest part of a natural hollow or closed basin whence the water of one or more streams escapes by evaporation; as, the sink of the Humboldt River. [Western U. S.]

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Sink

Sag\ (s[a^]g), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Sagged; p. pr. & vb. n. Sagging.] [Akin to Sw. sacka to settle, sink down, LG. sacken, D. zakken. Cf. Sink, v. i.]

1. To sink, in the middle, by its weight or under applied pressure, below a horizontal line or plane; as, a line or cable supported by its ends sags, though tightly drawn; the floor of a room sags; hence, to lean, give way, or settle from a vertical position; as, a building may sag one way or another; a door sags on its hinges.

2. Fig.: To lose firmness or elasticity; to sink; to droop; to flag; to bend; to yield, as the mind or spirits, under the pressure of care, trouble, doubt, or the like; to be unsettled or unbalanced. [R.]

The mind I sway by, and the heart I bear, Shall never sag with doubt nor shake with fear. --Shak.

3. To loiter in walking; to idle along; to drag or droop heavily.

To sag to leeward (Naut.), to make much leeway by reason of the wind, sea, or current; to drift to leeward; -- said of a vessel. --Totten.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Sink

Sank\, imp. of Sink.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Sink

Sig\, n. [Akin to AS. s[=i]gan to fall. [root]151a. See Sink, v. t.] Urine. [Prov. Eng.]

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