absorb
absorb Lexical Profile
absorb Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To take in or soak up energy, liquid, or another substance by chemical or physical action.
"Plant roots absorb moisture and essential minerals directly from the soil."
To take in and understand information, ideas, or experiences fully.
"The lecture was so dense that the students struggled to absorb all the new concepts at once."
To hold the attention and interest of someone completely; to engross.
"Her latest historical novel absorbed me from the very first chapter."
To take over and integrate a smaller entity, OR to bear a financial cost or reduction in impact without passing it on.
"The company decided to absorb the higher shipping costs rather than raise prices for customers."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse 'absorb' (to take a substance into the interior of a body, like a sponge soaking up water) with the scientific term 'adsorb' (to hold molecules as a thin film on the outside surface).
• Rhymes for absorb
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 15th century from Middle French absorber, from Latin absorbere ('to swallow up, devour'), formed from ab- ('from, away') and sorbere ('to suck in').
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.