Absorb

Definition: Absorb

Absorb

Verb

1. Become imbued; of liquids, light, or gases, in chemistry.

2. Take up, as of knowledge or beliefs.

3. Take up, as of debts or payments; "absorb the costs for something".

4. Take in, also metaphorically; "The sponge absorbs water well"; "She drew strength from the minister's words".

5. Cause to become one with; "The sales tax is absorbed into the state income tax".

6. Suck or take up or in; "A black star absorbs all matter.".

7. Engross (oneself) fully; "He immersed himself into his studies".

8. Engage or engross wholly; "Her interest in butterflies absorbs her completely".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "absorb" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1380. (references)

Note: Absorb \Ab*sorb"\, transitive verb. [imperative past participle Absorbed; present participle verb or noun Absorbing.]. (references)

Synonyms: Absorb

Attention

Catch the eye, strike the eye; attract notice; catch the attention, awaken the attention, wake the attention, invite the attention, solicit the attention, attract the attention, claim the attention excite the attention, engage the attention, occupy the attention, strike the attention, arrest the attention, fix the attention, engross the attention, absorb the attention, rivet the attention, catch the mind, awaken the mind, wake the mind, invite the mind, solicit the mind, attract the mind, claim the mind excite the mind, engage the mind, occupy the mind, strike the mind, arrest the mind, fix the mind, engross the mind, absorb the mind, rivet the mind, catch the thoughts, awaken the thoughts, wake the thoughts, invite the thoughts, solicit the thoughts, attract the thoughts, claim the thoughts excite the thoughts, engage the thoughts, occupy the thoughts, strike the thoughts, arrest the thoughts, fix the thoughts, engross the thoughts, absorb the thoughts, rivet the thoughts; be present to the mind, be uppermost in the mind.

Combination

Verb: combine, unite, incorporate, amalgamate, embody, absorb, reembody, blend, merge, fuse, melt into one, consolidate, coalesce, centralize, impregnate; put together, lump together; cement a union, marry.

Excitation

Stir the feelings, play on the feelings, come home to the feelings; touch a string, touch a chord, touch the soul, touch the heart; go to one's heart, penetrate, pierce, go through one, touch to the quick; possess the soul, pervade the soul, penetrate the soul, imbrue the soul, absorb the soul, affect the soul, disturb the soul.

Absorb, rivet the attention; sink into the mind, sink into the heart; prey on the mind, distract; intoxicate; overwhelm, overpower; bouleverser, upset, turn one's head.

Reception

Verb: give entrance to, give admittance to, give the entree; introduce, intromit; usher, admit, receive, import, bring in, open the door to, throw in, ingest, absorb, imbibe, inhale, breathe in; let in, take in, suck in, draw in; readmit, resorb, reabsorb; snuff up, swallow, ingurgitate; engulf, engorge; gulp; eat, drink; (food).

Taking

Oust; (eject); divest; levy, distrain, confiscate; sequester, sequestrate; accroach; usurp; despoil, strip, fleece, shear, displume, impoverish, eat out of house and home; drain, drain to the dregs; gut, dry, exhaust, swallow up; absorb; (suck in); draw off; suck the blood of, suck like a leech.

Use

Use up, swallow up; consume, absorb, expend; tax, task, wear, put to task.

Crosswords: Absorb

And absorb the sound that keep me round (Music; performing artist: Erick Sermon)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• Absorb the Colors (reference)

• Absorb What Is Useful (Jeet Kune Do Guidebook Vol 2) (reference)

• Can the United States Continue to Absorb Immigrants (reference)

• Jeet Kune Do Guidebook: Absorb What Is Useful (reference)

• Reflecting what light we can't absorb : poems (reference)

  (more book examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a procedure to treat cancer. Patients are injected with a photosensitizer which is a light sensitive drug selectively retained by cancer cells. When exposed to laser light, the photosensitizer in the cancer cells produces a toxic reaction which destroys the tumor. This photo shows an argon-ion laser, the first component of the argon pumped-dye laser (630nm red). This argon-ion laser emits blue-green light at 488/514 nm, and is used to excite a dye in the second component, the dye laser head, where the wavelength is changed to 630nm red. Different photosensitizers absorb light at different wavelengths. Some absorb light most efficiently in the blue light region of the spectrum around 400 nanometers(nm) with lesser absorption in the green and red light range. However, red light at 630 nm penetrates deeper into the tumor tissue (3-8 mm) than green or blue light. For this reason, the majority of PDT work has used 630 nm light. See artwork: GA-17. Credit: Unknown photographer/artist.

Figure 22. The BLAKE shock absorber. This device also used the principle of the elasticity of rubber to absorb the shocks incurred on a cable or line when launching or retrieving heavy objects at sea. This device was first used in the winter of 1878-1879 on the Coast and Geodetic Ship BLAKE while under the scientific direction of Alexander Agassiz. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now.

New uses for cornstarch continue to surprise us. for example, when ARS scientists married starch to a synthetic chemical, they managed to create a product so thirsty, it could absorb hundreds of times its own weight in water. Someone called it SuperSlurper, and the name stuck. P. Credit: USDA ARS News; photo by Scott Bauer..

Science supports grandmother's advice that oats are good for you-they can help lower cholesterol levels. Scientists speculate oats may accomplish this by slowing the rate at which the intestines absorb carbohydrates. P. Credit: USDA ARS News; photo by Scott Bauer..

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

They all reflect and absorb his rays alike, and the former make but a small part of the glorious picture which he beholds in his daily course

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Health

They absorb water in the intestine and make the stool softer. (references)

Villi on the lining of the small intestine help absorb nutrients. (references)

It interferes with the body's ability to absorb certain nutrients. (references)

Business

Local banks invest in foreign stock markets to absorb excess liquidity. (references)

They would need to establish disassembly and recycling plants and absorb all the associated costs. (references)

Muffled machine cabs, materials which absorb some of the vibrations and seats which can be adjusted to the shape of the operator's body are only some of the solutions being applied on a large scale. (references)

Civil Liberties

Afghanistan

Late in the year, all six countries neighboring Afghanistan (Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and China) officially closed their borders to refugees, citing both security reasons and an inability to absorb more refugees. (references)

Economic History

Vietnam

Only the private sector can possibly absorb Vietnam's current and future excess labor. (references)

Finland

EU and EFTA countries have continued to absorb the bulk of Finnish merchandise exports. (references)

Human Rights

Panama

Colon's main prison, Nueva Esperanza, is near completion and is expected to absorb inmates from Colon's women's prison and the dilapidated public prison, both of which are scheduled to be closed. (references)

Political Economy

BRAZIL

In the past decade, Brazil has undertaken a number of economic reforms that should allow it to absorb these shocks. (references)

FINLAND

The previous center-conservative government initiated a program aimed at privatizing as many state-owned companies as the Finnish parliament would permit and the market could absorb. (references)

Trade

Saudi Arabia

The SAG has stated its intent to sell back the shares as the local capital markets are able to absorb them. (references)

Pakistan

Foreign banks generally have sufficient lucrative business in the corporate sector to absorb their limited credit reserves. (references)

Worker Rights

Russia

Because of the inability of local employment agencies to provide benefits or to absorb laid-off employees from some factory towns, local governors and mayors often overturn the enterprises' decisions to lay off workers who are not really working. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Expressions using "absorb": absorb the shock ♦ absorb the soul. Additional references.

Ending with "absorb": re-absorb.

Afrikaans

assimileer (assimilate), absorbeer. (various references)

Albanian

amortizoj (amortise, amortize, break, muffle), absorboj, thith (draw, draw down, drink, imbibe, immerse, inhale, nipple, pull at, snuff, soak, soak up, sop, suck, suck in, take up), përvetësoj (adopt, annex, appropriate, assimilate, digest, embezzle, embrace, form, imbibe, misappropriate, mop up, peculate, pocket, pre empt), gulçoj (blow, breath rapidly, crepitate, gasp, gulp, heave, howl, pant, puff, wheeze, whoop), gëlltit (consume, engorge, engross, engulf, ingest, ingulf, ingurgitate, Raven, soak up, sup, swallow, swallow up), gëlltis (devour, down, gobble, gulp, pocket), bëj për vete (allure, capture, conciliate, ingratiate, magnetize, prepossess). (various references)

Arabic 

‏تشرب (blot, drink, imbibe), ‏إمتص (drink, drink in, imbibe, soak up), ‏إستوعب (assimilate, compass, digest, get around, imbibe, ingest, realize, stomach, suck, swallow, take in), ‏إستغرق (cover, engross, enwrap, occupy, sink, take up, wrap). (various references)

Bulgarian 

гълтам (devour, get down, gulp, pouch, run away with, slummock, sup, swallow, swig), абсорбирам (soak, suck, suck in), поглъщам (adsorb, devour, engorge, engross, engulf, imbibe, ingulf, ingurgitate, pouch, prepossess, soak, soak up, suck, suck down, suck in, suck up, swallow, swamp, take down, take in, take over, whelm), поемам (accept, defray, draw, hit, receive, strike, take, take in), попивам (imbibe, soak). (various references)

Chinese 

吸�"� (ABS, Absorbed, Absorbing, Absorption, assimilation, Recruited, Recruiting, sorb, sorbed). (various references)

Czech

absorbovat (occlude, soak up), vstřebat (assimilate, occlude), tlumit (baffle, damp, muffle, mute, temper), pohltit (close in on smb., devour, eat up, engorge, engulf, gobble, ingulf, swallow up), osvojit. (various references)

Danish

indsuge (to admit, to induce, to ingest). (various references)

Dutch

opslorpen (sip), in beslag nemen (confiscate, fill, occupy, take, take up), absorberen. (various references)

Esperanto

absorbi, sorbi (sip), disponi (have at one's disposal). (various references)

Faeroese

súgva upp (sip), ráða yvir (have at one's disposal), drekka í seg (sip). (various references)

Farsi 

فروبردن (Aspire, Devour, Gulp, Imbibe, Immerse, Plunge, Ram, Swallow), فراگرفتن (Comprehend, Engulf, Envelop, Form, Learn, Lick, Suffuse, Surround), مستغرق بودن , مجذوب شدن در, کاملافروبردن , تحلیل بردن (Imbibe, Stub, Undermine, Useup), جذب کردن (Amuse, Attract, Imbibe, Magnet, Sop, Sponge), درکشیدن (Imbibe), دراشامیدن . (various references)

Finnish

nielaista (devour, gulp down, swallow, swallow up), imeä sisäänsä (imbibe, take up), imeä (sip, suck). (various references)

French

absorber, assimiler, amortir. (various references)

German

absorbieren (occlude, to absorb), aufnehmen (admit, affiliate, assimilate, begin, book, commence, enroll, enter into, establish, film, grabbing, hold, include, incorporate, ingest, list, photograph, pick up, raise, receive, record, sop up, take, take down, take in, take on, take up, tape, to absorb, to affiliate, to assimilate, to host, to incorporate, to ingest, to record, twist, write in), schlucken (booze, gulp, guzzle, hiccup, kill, lap up, put away, quaff, shift, soak up, swallow, swallow up, to swallow, wear), einsaugen (breathe in, sip, soak up, suck in), aufsaugen (imbibe, intake, resorb, sip, soak up, suck in, take up, to absorb, to resorb, vacuum up). (various references)

Greek 

απορροφώ (engross, imbibe, mop, occlude, soak up). (various references)

Hawaiian

absorboj. (various references)

Hebrew 

לי� וק (breastfeed, suck, suckle), לקלוט (comprehend, imbibe, merge, occlude, receive, take in), לבלוע (devour, engulf, gulp, merge, swallow), לספו�' (adsorb, blot, imbibe, sop up, sponge). (various references)

Hungarian

asszimilál (assimilate, to assimilate), abszorbeál (to absorb, to occlude), leköt (held, immobilize, obligate, to arrest, to engage, to engross, to hold, to obligate, to peg down, to pledge, to take up, to tie, to tie up), elnyel (adsorb, engulf, ingulf, suck, suck in, swallow up, to absorb, to assimilate, to devour, to engulf, to mop up, to occlude, to suck, to swallow, to swallow up, whelm), diszponál (have at one's disposal). (various references)

Icelandic

gleypa. (various references)

Indonesian

ngangsu (draw water, gain knowledge), menyangga (buffer, buttress, prop), mengisap, menangkap (arrest, capture, catch, cop, detain, grab), memikat (attract, captivate, enamour, lure). (various references)

Irish

súigh (suck). (various references)

Italian

assorbire (adsorb, assimilate, blot, engross, imbibe, merge, preoccupy, soak up, sop up, sponge, suck), disporre (arrange, array, dispose, get ready, have, have at one's disposal, lay, make arrangements, order, place, prejudice, put up, range, set up, station, will). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

吸い取る　 (to absorb, to squeeze money, to suck up), 吸い取る (to absorb, to squeeze, to suck up). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

すいとる (to absorb, to squeeze, to suck up). (various references)

Korean 

흡수하십시�". (various references)

Manx

soo stiagh gaal, soo stiagh (suck, suck in), maanal (keeping wet, keeping wet as plant), jiole seose (mop, mop up, mopping, swab). (various references)

Norwegian

absorbere (imbibe). (various references)

Papiamen

asimilá (assimilate), apsorbé, disponé (have at one's disposal). (various references)

Pig Latin

absorbay.(various references)

Polish

dysponować (have at one's disposal). (various references)

Portuguese

absorver (absorbing, adsorb, assimilate, drink, engorge, engross, imbibe, impregnate, occlude, occupy, sip, soak, soak up, swallow), sorver (aspirate, engulf, sip, swallow up). (various references)

Romanian

amortiza (amortize, break, cushion, damp, deaden, extinguish, liquidate, pay off, redeem), acapara (corner, forestall, hog, monopolize, poach, seize), absorbi (aspirate, captivate, engage, engross, fascinate, imbibe, inhale, soak, sponge, suck), trage (booze, come, drag, drag in, drag out, draw, evolve, extract, fetch, fire, guzzle, haul, heave, hitch, lie, lug, pluck, pop, pull, pull up, rub, screw, shoot, strike off, suffer, tipple, toll, tug, worry), suge (bib, booze, guzzle, sop, suck, suckle), sorbi (devour, drain, drink, drink in, imbibe, quaff, sip, sup, swallow), preocupa adânc (obsess), ocupa (busy, come into, conquer, do, engage, fill, hold, indwell, make good, occupy, take). (various references)

Russian 

всосать (suck in), всасывать (adsorb, imbibe), впитывать (drink in, imbibe, soak in, soak up, sop up), впитать (soak up), захватывать (clench, enrapture, enthrall, grab, grip, hijack, invade, invaded, overwhelm, possess, preempt, reconquer, seize, seize on, seizes, seizing), поглощать;амортизировать, поглощать (consume, devour, eat up, engorge, engross, engulf, gobble, imbibe, ingurgitate, merge, preoccupy, whelm). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

apsorbovati, zadubiti se u, upiti (imbibe, soak, soak up, sop), upijati (blot, drink in, imbibe), prigušiti (muffle). (various references)

Spanish

absorber (absorber, drink in, engross, lap up, occlude, preoccupy, soak up, sop up, suck in, take up). (various references)

Swedish

absorbera (imbibe, occlude), uppta (admit, affiliate, assimilate, engage, engross, enrol, enroll, ingest, occupy, open, pick up, receive, take up), uppsluka (devour, engorge, engulf, gulf, swallow up), suga upp (imbibe, siphon off, soak up, sop up). (various references)

Turkish

emmek (adsorb, drink in, occlude, siphon off, soak, soak in, sop up, suck, suck in, suck up, syphon off), çekmek (abide, arrest, attract, be a sufferer by, be a sufferer from, be cursed with smth., bear, bear with, captivate, carry, catch, charm, claw, conjugate, decline, drag, draw, draw off, draw on, draw out, dwindle, engage, engross, extract, fetch, glamor, glamour, go through, go to scale at, grind, grip, haul, heave, hitch, hoist, hold, inflect, inhale, invite, last out, lug, lump, magnetize, pass through, pique, pluck, prepossess, pull, pull away, pull over, pull up, receive, record, run up, scale in, scale out, schlep, schlepp, shoot, shrink, sip, siphon, siphon off, soak, soak in, sop up, stand the racket, stretch, suck, suffer, sustain, syphon, syphon off, take, take after, take one's medicine, throw back, toss, tow, tow away, tug, turn the scale at, undergo, up with, whisk, withdraw). (various references)

Turkmen 

sormak (suck), siсdirmek (digest). (various references)

Ukrainian

усмоктувати (adsorb, imbibe, sink in, soak up, suck, suck up), убирати (clothe, sop), захоплювати (bag, carry away, clench, clip, delight, encroach, enrapture, enthuse, grab, inlace, invade, occupy, possess, rapture, ravish, take), принаджувати (train), поглинати (canker, consume, devour, eat away, engulf, gulf, immerse, lap up, merge, mop up, occupy, overwhelm, suck in, swallow). (various references)

Welsh

amsugno, yfed (drink), sychu (dry, dry up, wipe, wipe dry), sugno (imbibe, suck), llyncu (gulp, swallow). (various references)

absorbere, devora, devorabis, devorabit, devorabitque, devorabitur, devorabunt, devorabuntur, devorandum, devorans, devorant, devorante, devorantem, devorantes, devorantis, devorare, devorarunt, devorassem, devorat, devorata, devorati, devoratis, devorator, devoratrix, devoratum, devoratus, devoraverit, devoraverunt, devoraveruntque, devoravi, devoravimus, devoravit, devoret, devoretur, ebibent, imbibere, potabat, potabis, potabit, potabo, potabunt, potandum, potantem, potantium, potasti, potati, potationibus, potator, potatorum, potatum, potaverunt, poteris, potes, sorbet. (various references)

Derivations

Words beginning with "absorb": absorbabilities, absorbability, absorbable, absorbance, absorbances, absorbancies, absorbancy, absorbant, absorbants, absorbed, absorbencies, absorbency, absorbent, absorbents, absorber, absorbers, absorbing, absorbingly, absorbs. (additional references)

Words ending with "absorb": reabsorb. (additional references)

Words containing "absorb": nonabsorbable, nonabsorbent, nonabsorbents, reabsorbed, reabsorbing, reabsorbs, superabsorbent, superabsorbents, unabsorbed, unabsorbent. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Absorb" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Abboxry, aborm, absord, absurb, Ansbro, Asforby, asor, Dabdoub. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

-1 letter: barbs, boars, boras.

-2 letters: abos, arbs, barb, bars, boar, boas, bobs, bora, bras, bros, oars, orbs, osar, robs, soar, sora, sorb.

-3 letters: abo, abs, arb, ars, bar, bas, boa, bob, bos, bra, bro, oar, ora, orb, ors, ras, rob, sab, sob.

-4 letters: ab, ar, as, ba, bo, or, os, so.

+1 letter: absorbs, gabbros.

+2 letters: absorbed, absorber, barbasco, baseborn, belabors, bombards, rabbonis, reabsorb, rubaboos, sorbable.

+3 letters: absorbant, absorbent, absorbers, absorbing, barbarous, barbascos, bareboats, baseboard, bathrobes, belabours, boxboards, browbands, browbeats, probables, reabsorbs, rubbaboos.

+4 letters: absorbable, absorbance, absorbancy, absorbants, absorbency, absorbents, adsorbable, backboards, barbascoes, barbershop, barbitones, baseboards, billboards, bombardons, brassbound, breadboxes, breastbone, broomballs, buckboards, fibroblast, naboberies, observable, observably, reabsorbed, suborbital, unabsorbed.