sink definition | Dictionary.com

sink

[singk]

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

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sink⋅hole

[singk-hohl]

–noun

1.	a hole formed in soluble rock by the action of water, serving to conduct surface water to an underground passage.

2.	Also called sink. a depressed area in which waste or drainage collects.

Origin:
1425–75; late ME; see sink, hole

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To sink

sink (sĭngk)

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.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

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.]

Sink

Sink\, v. i. [imp. Sunk, or (Sank); p. p. Sunk (obs. Sunken, -- now used as adj.); p. pr. & vb. n. Sinking.] [OE. sinken, AS. sincan; akin to D. zinken, OS. sincan, G. sinken, Icel. s["o]kkva, Dan. synke, Sw. sjunka, Goth. siggan, and probably to E. silt. Cf. Silt.]

1. To fall by, or as by, the force of gravity; to descend lower and lower; to decline gradually; to subside; as, a stone sinks in water; waves rise and sink; the sun sinks in the west.

I sink in deep mire. --Ps. lxix. 2.

2. To enter deeply; to fall or retire beneath or below the surface; to penetrate.

The stone sunk into his forehead. --1 San. xvii. 49.

3. Hence, to enter so as to make an abiding impression; to enter completely.

Let these sayings sink down into your ears. --Luke ix. 44.

4. To be overwhelmed or depressed; to fall slowly, as so the ground, from weakness or from an overburden; to fail in strength; to decline; to decay; to decrease.

I think our country sinks beneath the yoke. --Shak.

He sunk down in his chariot. --2 Kings ix. 24.

Let not the fire sink or slacken. --Mortimer.

5. To decrease in volume, as a river; to subside; to become diminished in volume or in apparent height.

The Alps and Pyreneans sink before him. --Addison.

Syn: To fall; subside; drop; droop; lower; decline; decay; decrease; lessen.

Sink

Sink\, v. t. 1. To cause to sink; to put under water; to immerse or submerge in a fluid; as, to sink a ship.

[The Athenians] fell upon the wings and sank a single ship. --Jowett (Thucyd.).

2. Figuratively: To cause to decline; to depress; to degrade; hence, to ruin irretrievably; to destroy, as by drowping; as, to sink one's reputation.

I raise of sink, imprison or set free. --Prior.

If I have a conscience, let it sink me. --Shak.

Thy cruel and unnatural lust of power Has sunk thy father more than all his years. --Rowe.

3. To make (a depression) by digging, delving, or cutting, etc.; as, to sink a pit or a well; to sink a die.

4. To bring low; to reduce in quantity; to waste.

You sunk the river repeated draughts. --Addison.

5. To conseal and appropriate. [Slang]

If sent with ready money to buy anything, and you happen to be out of pocket, sink the money, and take up the goods on account. --Swift.

6. To keep out of sight; to suppress; to ignore.

A courtly willingness to sink obnoxious truths. --Robertson.

7. To reduce or extinguish by payment; as, to sink the national debt.

Sink

Sink\, n. 1. A drain to carry off filthy water; a jakes.

2. A shallow box or vessel of wood, stone, iron, or other material, connected with a drain, and used for receiving filthy water, etc., as in a kitchen.

3. A hole or low place in land or rock, where waters sink and are lost; -- called also sink hole. [U. S.]

Sink hole. (a) The opening to a sink drain. (b) A cesspool. (c) Same as Sink, n., 3.

Language Translation for : sink

Spanish: hundir(se), irse a pique,

German: versenken,

Japanese: 沈む

More Translations »

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.

sink (n.)

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

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.

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.

SINK
single income, no kids

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