sink Meaning, Definition & Usage

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

WordNet

Sink intransitive verb
Etymology
OE. sinken, AS. sincan; akin to D. zinken, OS. sincan, G. sinken, Icel. sökkva, Dan. synke, Sw. sjunka, Goth. siggan, and probably to E. silt. Cf. Silt.
Wordforms
imperfect Sunk or (Sank ); past participle Sunk (obsolete Sunken, -- now used as adjective ); present participle & verbal noun Sinking
Definitions
  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 transitive verb
Definitions
  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 noun
Definitions
  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.

Webster 1913